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Hope floats as Obama meets Congressional leaders on budget deal

Wa s h i n g t o n : After meeting with President Obama at the White House F r i d a y , Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress expressed confidence that an agreement will be President Obama met with top Congressional leaders of both parties Friday morning reached before the at the White House. yearend to avert economy-rattling tax increases and the House speaker, and Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority across-the-board spending cuts. Republicans John A. Boehner, Continued on page 4
WHITE HOUSE CELEBRATES DIWALI LED BY JOE BIDEN

The White House celebrated Diwali this year too with Vice President Joe Biden joining a select group of Indian-American officials, community members and diplomats. Biden spoke of the universal resonance of Diwali and asked guests to commit themselves to providing for those less fortunate.
Bhargava denies his 5-hour Energy drink linked to deaths

Washington: The Indian-American founder and CEO of 5hour Energy has denied suggestions that the popular drink is responsible for 13 deaths in the past four years following a report that US authorities are looking into the claims. The idea that the drink is to blame for killing anyone is like comparing "drinking a bottle of water today, and then thousands of people died the next day; that somehow it's linked," said Lucknow-born Manoj Bhargava. Continued on page 4
India demands probe into death in Ireland of woman denied abortion

New Delhi: Concerned and pained over the death of an Indian women after Ireland doctors denied her an abortion, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi Friday demanded "a highlevel probe" into the incident that has caused a global outrage. Ravi also said his ministry was ready to give all assistance, including matters legal, to the victim's family. "A high-level inquiry should be done and the culprits brought to Continued on page 4
Vice President Joe Biden is presented with a shawl after lighting the traditional lamp at the Diwali reception in the South Court Auditorium of the White House, Nov. 13, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Ami Bera declared winner for House seat from California

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US Affairs 10
Diwali in India 16
Op Ed 25
Spiritual Awareness 30
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White House celebrates Diwali with Recount over, Ami Bera enters US Indian-Americans Congress, repeating history
Washington: The White House celebrated Diwali this year too with Vice President Joe Biden lighting the traditional "diya" or the lamp as he joined a select group of Indian-American officials, community members and diplomats. President Barack Obama wished people around the world "Happy Diwali and Saal Mubarak" but unlike last year he did not himself join Tuesday night's celebrations at the Eisenhower executive building of the White House this time. In 2009, Obama became the first US president to light the traditional lamp in the East Room of the White House. In 2010, he celebrated Diwali in Mumbai. Diwali celebrations in the White House were started by former president George W. Bush, but he never personally participated in the celebrations, deputing senior administration officials to the function. At this year's celebraWashington: Ami Bera, a Los Angelesborn physician son of Indian immigrants, was elected to the US Congress, repeating a 60-year-old feat by Dalip Singh Saund who was the first Indian American to win a Congressional election. Democrat Bera's victory Thursday over sitting Republican Dan Lungren nine days after the election makes him just the third Indian American elected to the House of Representatives, after Saund in 1952 and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who won a House seat in 2004. Bera, 45, defeated Lungren 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent in his second attempt after having failed to unseat the Republican two years ago. Bera, from Elk Grove, led three-term Republican lawmaker Lungren by 184 votes Nov 6 election night. His lead grew to about 3,800 votes Tuesday and swelled to almost 5,700 votes Thursday, according to the latest vote count. The race was to fill California's 7th District Congressional seat representing the suburbs of Sacramento. "It will be an honor to serve Sacramento County in Congress," said Bera after his victory. Bera, who was raised in La Palma, California, has a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from the University of
Vice President Joe Biden greets Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao at the Diwali reception in the White House, Nov. 13.
tions, Biden spoke of the universal resonance of Diwali and asked guests to commit themselves to providing for those less fortunate. "In closing, the vice president expressed his wishes for a peaceful and prosperous Diwali and that the lights guide the guests safely home," wrote an official on the White House blog. At the conclusion of the ceremony, which was closed to the press, a priest from a local Hindu temple draped a
blue shawl around Biden's shoulders as he lit the "diya". Attendees at this year's celebrations included Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao, the first Hindu American to be elected to the US Congress Tulsi Gabbard, and Ami Bera, now declared winner of a Congressional seat. USAID administrator Rajiv Shah and former White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra also attended.
Ami Bera, third Indian American Congressman after Bobby Jindal and Dalip Singh Saund.
California at Irvine, earning his MD there in 1991. He served as associate dean for Admissions at the UC Davis School of Medicine and later as the chief medical officer for the County of Sacramento. Bera has cited health care, education and economic recovery among his top legislative priorities. Five other Indian-Americans lost their Congressional races. But Tulsi Gabbard became the first Hindu American and one of the first female combat veterans in the US Congress with her victory in Hawaii's 2nd congressional district.
Obama visits New York, pledges continued attention to storm recovery

New York: President Obama traveled to Queens and Staten Island on Thursday to hug survivors of Hurricane Sandy, meet with local officials and take a helicopter tour of some of the worst damage wrought by the storm. He promised he would continue to return to the region until recovery is complete. Obama spent the day talking to New York officials and storm victims about the flow of federal disaster aid and the continuing struggle to restore power. He also met privately with Damien and Glenda Moore of Staten Island. The Moores two small children, Brandon and Connor, died after being swept away in the storm. Speaking to residents and first responders in the devastated New Dorp neighborhood of Staten Island, the president assigned his Theres still a lot of cleanup to do, Obama said as he stood in front of a destroyed home on Cedar Grove Avenue in Staten Island. People still need emergency help. They still need heat. They still need power; they still need shelter; kids are still trying to figure out where theyre going to school. Obama traveled to the region with Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both New York Democrats. They were joined in New York by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and two of Obamas cabinet secretaries, Donovan and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. The president began the trip with an aerial tour of some of the most hard-hit parts of New York City, passing over the Queens neighborhoods of Breezy Point, where 110 houses burned and many others were destroyed by floodwater, and Far Rockaway, which was inundated by a devastating storm surge. He then touched down in Staten Island, where a city of white tents surrounded by neighborhoods still without power serves as one of six disaster recovery areas in the region. Cuomo has requested $30 billion in federal aid to rebuild devastated parts of his state. White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to New York that the administration has committed more than $1.5 billion to support response and recovery efforts, including $600 million already approved in direct assistance to hundreds of thousands of people affected by Sandy.
President Obama visited some of the worst affected areas of Queens and Staten island. He was accompanied by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and other officials.
housing secretary, Shaun Donovan, to lead the administrations efforts in the recovery from Sandy. The powerful storm flooded lower Manhattan, killed
more than 80 people and devastated waterfront communities in several states when it came ashore near Atlantic City on Oct. 29.
TURN PAGE
Israel prepares for ground assault in Gaza

Jerusalem: After a morning of heavy rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, the Israeli military seemed to be edging closer to a ground invasion of Gaza on Friday, saying forces were "ready to enter should it be decided that a ground operation is necessary." In a statement, the Israeli military said paratrooper and infantry brigades had completed final preparations for a potential ground operation, which would be the first since the winter of 2008-09, when Israel drew broad international reproach for an invasion that claimed 1,400 Palestinian lives for the loss of 13 Israelis. The statement came after scores of rockets were fired into Israel, striking major cities of the south, causing widespread panic and damage and shattering plans for a temporary ceasefire during aremarkable visit to Gaza by the Egyptian prime minister that showed the shifting dynamics of Middle East politics since the turmoil of the Arab Spring uprisings. Word of the potential invasion emerged shortly before a rocket from Gaza struck near Tel Aviv. Hamas militants also fired rockets for the first time at Jerusalem. An Israeli police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld, said the rocket probably landed in the sea, and that it was one of 120 rockets fired into Israel by dusk on Friday. Israeli officials say that the only rockets in Gaza with a range that can reach Tel Aviv are Iranian-made Fajr-5 projectiles that Israel has been trying to take out with hundreds of airstrikes over the last two days. That the rockets were still being fired seemed to weigh heavily in Israeli military calculations about a ground invasion.
Entering Congress, Tulsi Gabbard to take oath over Bhagavad Gita

Nerw York: Last week, Democrat Tulsi Gabbard became the first Hindu-American to enter the US House of Representatives from Hawaii's second Congressional district. The 31-year-old will be making history yet again when she takes her oath of office. According to The Hill, Gabbard, an Iraq war veteran, will be taking her oath over the Bhagavad Gita instead of the Bible. Gabbard, whose first name refers to a tree sacred to Hindus, follows the Vaishnava branch of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita, a centuries-old Dharmic holy book that is part of the ancient epic Mahabharata, is her primary scripture. In a statement released after her victory, Gabbard, who was raised by a Catholic father and a Hindu
Tulsi Gabbard, first Hindu in Congress, was elected from Hawaii.
mother, said that she hopes her new position in Congress will inspire other Hindu-Americans to be proud of their faith.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II sells $500M in first day of sales

In a record-shattering performance, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Activisions latest installment in the wildly-popular first-person shooter franchise sold $500M worth of games in a 24-hour span. The previous record of $400M was set by 2011s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. "With first day sales of over half a billion dollars worldwide, we believe Call of Duty is the biggest entertainment launch of the year for the fourth year in a row," Bobby Kotick, CEO, Activision Blizzard, Inc., said in a release cost-saving changes to Medicare and Medicaid 5 hour energy drink story Continued from page 1 "It's just false," he was quoted as saying by Fox News. The reports were first detailed by The New York Times Wednesday, and Bhargava said he would not expect this from the Times. The news follows the US Food and Drug Administration's disclosure last month that it is investigating reports of five deaths that may be related to Monster Beverage's namesake drinks. "Caffeine is a good thing," Bhargava said. VP - Strategy and Marketing: Namit Narain C: 516.303.2075 Namit@TheSouthAsianTimes.info Fans attended over 16,000 midnight releases at retail outlets across the country. "Call of Duty has become more than a product people buy, it's a brand people buy into. And every November we do more than just the launch of a game, we kick off an annual, unofficial but worldwide phenomenon called the Call of Duty season," Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, said. Call of Duty: Black Ops II is available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo WiiU and PC. "The only things that we get about caffeine is from reporters, who really have no clue what caffeine does India demands probe story Continued from page 1 book," Ravi said. Savita Halappanavar, from Karnataka, died of septicemia Oct 28 in Ireland after doctors there refused to remove the fetus following a miscarriage on the ground that Ireland is a Catholic Christian country. Halappanavar had arrived Oct 21 with back pain at Galway University Hospital in Ireland where she was found to be miscarrying at 17 weeks Xitij Joshi/xitijphoto.com Photo Journalist: Parveen/Bhanu Seth Art and Design: Vladimir Tomovski Bhagwati Creations, Rahul Sahota Web Editor: B.B.Chopra News Service: HT Media Ltd. IANS Newswire Services Printing: Five Star Printing, NY Richner Publications Contacts Editor@TheSouthAsianTimes.info Subscribe@TheSouthAsianTimes.info Advertisements Advertise@TheSouthAsianTimes.info P : 516.390.7847 F : 516.465.1343 Website: www.TheSouthAsianTimes.info
Obama meets congressional leaders story Continued from page 1 leader; and Democrats, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, and Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader described the meeting as constructive. We have the cornerstones of being able to work something out. Were both going to have to give up some of the things that we know are a problem, said Reid. Boehner said he outlined a framework for overhauling the tax code and spending programs that is consistent with the presidents call for a fair and balanced approach. To show our seriousness, he added, we put revenue on the table as long as its
accompanied by significant spending cuts. His Senate counterpart, Mr. McConnell, made plain that Republicans were talking about spending for the entitlement programs, chiefly Medicare and Medicaid, which are growing fast as the population ages and, along with military spending, are squeezing everything else in the federal budget. Pelosi said: We understand that it has to be about cuts, it has to be about revenue, it has to be about growth, it has to be about the future. She added, I feel confident that a solution may be in sight. Obama demands that it include up to $1.6 trillion in tax increases for the wealthy, while Republicans favor less in revenue but big
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Pratham co-founder Dr. Madhav Chavan wins 2012 WISE Prize for Education
New York: Dr. Madhav Chavan, co-founder and CEO of Pratham, has been awarded the 2012 WISE Prize for Education in Doha, Qatar. The annual WISE Prize for Education, the first major global prize of its kind, recognizes an individual or a team for an outstanding, world-class contribution to the field. The Laureate receives an award of USD $500,000 dollars and a gold medal. Chavan will be donating his monetary prize to Pratham. After completing a Ph.D. in the USA, Chavan returned to India in 1986 to teach Chemistry at the University of Mumbai. He was struck by the plight of the city's poor, and he applied his scientific training to create a solution of beautiful simplicity. Chavan saw that education was the main barrier to India's developmary elements of government infrastructure, corporate resources and citizen volunteerism had striking results in bringing literacy to Mumbai's slum children. Futhermore, the formula easily passed the scientific tests of scalability and replicability and spread rapidly across the country. Pratham, the NGO of which Chavan is co-founder and CEO, is the largest non-governmental provider of basic literacy and numeracy for underprivileged children in India. Its programs now address pre-school education, learning support to both in-school and out-of-school children, computer literacy, vocational training and special programs for vulnerable and working children. Independent studies have shown that children who have attended Pratham's programs are much more likely to learn effectively in primary school than other children in their age group, and that they perform more highly than their classmates. Accepting the WISE Prize for Education, Chavan said: "Some 25 years ago I saw that new thinking was needed to improve the lives of the millions of underprivileged in my country. Many individuals and organizations have contributed to what has been achieved, and I share this tribute with them. WISE is pursuing a similar mission on a global scale, and I applaud its bold vision and inclusive approach. This Prize is a major landmark that reminds me how much more remains to be done. It is an enormous honor for me to be recognized by this unique community of innovators, and I hope to perform my duties as a global ambassador for education to the best of my ability.
The Emir of Qatar (R) handing Dr. Chavan (L) the 2012 WISE award
ment and that action was required that would bring rapid results. Leveraging the power of collaboration from the outset, he joined forces with UNICEF and the city government to ensure "every child
in school and learning well". Using his passion for social justice as a catalyst, he launched a mission to create large-scale impact at low cost. The reaction produced by combining the pri-
New York Tamil Sangam bids adieu to Ramesh Rajapur

New York: In a spirited farewell party hosted in honor of Ramesh Rajapur, Vice- President (Business Development) - State Bank of India in New York, The New York Tamil Sangam (NYTS) praised him for all his services to the Indians living in New York City especially to the Tamil community. In his welcome speech, Devaraj Vijayakumar, Secretary, NYTS thanked and appreciated Rajapur for all his outstanding support, excellent guidance and exceptional personal rapport extended to the executive committee of New York Tamil Sangam and to all the NYTS members. home in New York besides helping them in so many other ways and wished NYTS all the successes in many more years to come. The dinner party was held in Haveli Restaurant in Queens where Albert Chelladurai, NYTS Immediate past president honored Rajapur with a plaque, while Kanchana Poola, NYTS past president greeted Mrs. Ramesh with a flower bouquet and Arul Veerappan, NYTS Vice-President presented a memento to Mrs. Ramesh. The distinguished among the attendees included S. Chidambaranathan, Dr. Giridharan and Jack Poola and many members of NYTS.
Saluting a Centurian
Ramesh Rajapur, VP (Business Development), SBI, NY
Ramesh Rajapur in his address to the gathering told that it was amazing to see the efforts of NYTS in upholding the values of Tamil culture and passing it on the younger generations living far away from
Minesh Patel celebrated 100th birthday of his grandmother in presence of Patel community members on November 9th ( Photo: By Vijay Shah)
Bhargavas energy drink under scanner for 13 deaths

New York: A popular energy drink, produced by a company founded by an Indian-American billionaire, has come under the scanner after reports of 13 deaths possibly linked to the energy shots. However, Lucknow-born CEO of '5-Hour Energy', Manoj Bhargava dismissed the allegations against his firm as "false" and "ridiculous." The popular energy drink is being investigated by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) after 13 deaths over the last four years were reported, citing the drink as probable cause. The New York Times said since 2009, 5-Hour Energy has been mentioned in about 90 complaints filed with the FDA, including more than 30 that involved serious or life-threatening injuries like heart attacks, convulsions and even a spontaneous abortion. Bhargava, 59, strongly denies the allegations, saying that caffeine in his energy shot cannot be is present in 5-Hour Energy. "It is a ridiculous claim," Bhargava told Fox News responding to the USFDA investigation linking the deaths to his drink. "To say something is linked would be like saying if you drank a bottle of water today and thousands of people died the next day, then somehow it is linked. This is false, it is taking little pieces of information and turning it into something false," Bhargava, a Princeton university dropout, said. He said people are trying to make money by filing such claims and "sensationalization" by the media is unwarranted. Bhargava has been ranked by Forbes magazine among the 400 richest people in America and has a net worth of $1.5 billion. The readily available two-ounce caffeine and vitamin shot claims to have a 90 per cent market share in the energy shot sector and boasted of over $600 million in sales 2011, according to Forbes.
Manoj Bhargava
linked to serious health problems since certain popular coffee brands have higher caffeine content than
TRISTATE COMMUNITY
Post-Sandy, Indian-Americans say never saw such devastation

New York: A week after superstorm Sandy battered the US East Coast, a large number of Indian -American in New York and New Jersey, the two worst-hit states, continue to struggle to get back on their feet, with several of them saying they had never experienced such devastation before. Like the millions of other residents in the region, recovery from the destruction caused by Sandy has been painfully slow for the Indians, who make up a chunk of the New York and New Jersey population. Several of them live in areas where power has not yet been restored and there appears to be little hope for any relief soon. New Jersey resident Mansi Agarwal, who works as a software engineer at Googles Manhattan office, has been without power since the storm made landfall in New Jersey last Monday. Mother of seven-month old twin daughters, Agarwal said she moved to a friends place after waiting in sey residents, Agarwal has not been able to go to work in New York for about a week since the public transport system that connects New Jersey to Manhattan has remained suspended in the aftermath of the storm. Indians living in New Jersey use the PATH commuter trains to get to work in New York. While the subways in New York are gradually resuming operations, the PATH service, which forms the primary transit link between Manhattan and Jersey, remains suspended. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has said the PATH trains, which carry 244,000 passengers each weekday, would be out of service for at least seven to 10 days due to widespread flooding in tunnels and multiple stations, as well as power outages that have shut down signals and switches. Sangeeta Singh, as Associate Director at an independent school in New York, says she has never seen such devastation caused by a natural disaster in the past 27 years that she has been in the US. Singh was among the few fortunate residents who did not have to go days without power but her home suffered significant damage when power cables fell on her roof, triggering fears of fire. The region is now facing severe gas shortage, with Singh describing scenes outside the lone gas station in her area as chaotic. People are forced to wait for nearly three hours to fill their gas containers at stations where lines of cars and residents stretch for 6-7 miles, she said. Singh said grocery stores and supermarkets are running out of essential food supplies as trucks have not been able to cross into the city for days due to flooding. She said several stores are being forced to throw away frozen food products, which have gone bad due to the prolonged power outages.
UNITED SIKHS volunteers distributing hot lentil soup and sandwiches at Ivy Hill Elementary School in Newark,New Jersey.
vain for a couple of days for power to be restored in her building. Agarwal said she had not expected such severe damage from Sandy as last years storm Irene, which had also threatened to cause major destruction, had eventually not had much impact in the New York region.
I had not expected the power outage to last this long. No one had thought Sandy would cause destruction of such magnitude. It has been a terrible and frustrating experience. A feeling of desperation is now setting in among people who want to return to their normal lives, she said. Like thousands of other New Jer-
Ashwani Kumar appeals to NRIs to invest in India

New York: The Indian Government headed by Dr. Manmohan Singh accords top priority to the issues faced by Non-Resident Indians as it considers them at unofficial permanent ambassadors of India in their respective countries, the newly appointed Union Minister for Law and Justice Ashwani Kumar said. Addressing a meeting of Indian National Overseas Congress (I) at Bombay Palace restaurant in Manhattan on Diwali evening, Ashwini Kumar who was on a brief visit to the United States to deliver a lecture at Harvard Law School in Boston Massachusetts, said he was aware of the contribution made by NRIs in the US as was evident from the fact that their unity and lobbying led to the passage of Indo-US Civil Nuclear deal. Kumar appealed to the NRIs to invest in India and get involved in ensuring economic prosperity of India. Kumar praising the excellent work done by the INOC (I) led by George Abraham and his newly-formed team, said the organization espoused the ideals of the Congress Party led by Sonia Gandhi and serve as emotional bridge for NRIs between the two nations. He especially praised the NRI initiatives launched by INOC (I) to offer its skills and expertise back home and also to address the issues and concerns of NRIs and PIOs. The Minister expressed confidence in the leadership under George Abraham and the team and urged the committee to be united and continue with the good work going on for the past six months since the new committee was appointed by Dr Karan Singh the head of the overseas cell of the All India Congress Committee. INOC (I) President George Abraham emphasized that Diaspora issues need to be addressed by the Government and towards that end the INOC (I) has created an NRIInterface Council headed by attorney Anand
Aakash' maker among Forbes' 15 classroom revolutionaries

Washington, DC: The man behind India's low-cost Aakash tablet and an Indian American professor are listed among Forbes 15 "classroom revolutionaries" who are using innovative technologies to reinvent education for students and teachers globally. Suneet Singh Tuli, the CEO of Datawind, the maker of Aakash, and Massachusettes Institute of Technology professor Anant Agarwal figure among the education innovators who are "harnessing a slew of disruptive technologies to change everything from the way we teach grade school math to how we train the next generation of teachers". Tuli is the "mastermind" behind the world's cheapest tablet computer Aakash, "which has the potential to revolutionize educational access in the developing world", the US business magazine said. Datawind has a backlog of "millions" of orders for the 35 dollar Aakash tablet. The publication quoted Tuli as saying that "I don't care about creating the iPad killer. I care about the 3 billion people who can afford this device". Agarwal, 53, a professor of computer science at MIT is also the President of edX, the new combined online offerings of Harvard, MIT, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Texas. Over 400,000 are currently enrolled in the education program.
Union Minister for Law and Justice Ashwani Kumar addressing the gathering while INOC (I) President George Abraham and Shudh Prakash Singh look on.
Ahuja. Shudh Prakash Singh, in his address said Kumar is a highly-talented Minister with through knowledge of the subjects and earned a good name as dynamic minister in the Cabinet. He is the son of a veteran Congress leader the Late Prabodh Chander, who, before independence was an MLA in the Punjab Assembly in Lahore. After 1947 also he represented Gurdaspur Assembly Constituency several times as a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He also served as a Punjab Cabinet Minister several times. Ashwani Kumar, prior to entering politics, served as a leading lawyer in New Delhi and his experience in the bar made Dr. Manmohan Singh appoint him as the Law Minister of India. Sant Singh Chatwal, hotelier and other dignitaries were present as also the heads of various state chapters and wings of theINOC (I) including S. Swaran Singh, Phuman Singh, Mohinder Singh Gilzian, Tejinder Singh Gill, Anand Ahuja, John Joseph, Zach Thomas, Stanley Kalathara, Dilip Chauhan, Inderjit Singh, Malini Shah, Juned Qazi, Ravi and Ranju Batra, Sanjay Chaubey, Mohan Wanchoo, Prasad K, Harry Singh, Dr. Varghese Abraham and Rajinder Dichpally.
Sunita Williams wishes 'Happy Diwali' from space

New York: Indian American astronaut Sunita Williams greeted Indians around the world from space on the occasion of Diwali. "I wish everybody in India and people of Indian origin around the world, Happy Di- "I wish everybody in India and people of Indian origin around the world, Happy Diwali," Sunita Williams tells her host wali. It is a wonderful Riti Sunshine Bhalla. day and a wonderful festival and I am hapsecond appearance as guest on mission in 2006. In her current py we are part of it up here at Riti Bhalla Special, a program mission, she carried a picture the International Space Station named after the teen host, a of 'Om', symbol of Hinduism (ISS)," Williams said. In a student of New York Universi- and a copy of the Upanishads, conversation with New York ty. Earlier in August, Williams which her father gifted to her, based TV host Riti Sunshine had joined Shah Rukh Khan, the TV show organizers said Bhalla, made possible with Sanjay Dutt, Indian American Tuesday. "It is a small version months of planning between governor Nikki Haley, and but it definitely brings the wisBhalla's production team and others on Bhalla's annual pro- dom to us while we are here NASA Johnson Space Center gram to greet the people of In- and allows us to think of the in Houston, Williams thanked dia on Independence Day, dis- true meaning of life and what the Indian people for their sup- playing the tricolor flag on we are doing", Williams told port and hoped to visit India board the ISS. Williams had Bhalla, displaying her prized next Diwali and meet them in carried Bhagavad Gita with possessions while floating in person. This was Williams' her to the ISS in her earlier the ISS.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Washington,DC: The number of Indian students studying in the United States has dropped continuously for the second consecutive year while the count of international students in the country has now reached a record high with the maximum enrollments from China. In the year 2011-12, the Chinese student enrollments have increased by 23 per cent in total and by 31 per cent at the undergraduate level, according to the 2012 Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange. The report finds that the number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States has increased by six per cent to a record high of 7,64,495 in the 201112 academic year, while the US students studying abroad increased by one per cent. This year, international exchanges in all 50 states contributed USD 22.7 billion to the US economy. Overall, China sends the maximum number of 1,94,029 students in the year 2011-12 as against 1,57,558 in the previous year. While China registered an increase in enrollment in American universities, it dropped for those coming from India by 3.5 per cent to 1,00,270 students. "The number of Indian students in
Number of Indian students in US drops again Two senators bring resolution

celebrating Diwali
Washington, DC: Two senators, Democrat Mark R. Warner and Republican John Cornyn, co-chairs of the US Senate's bipartisan India Caucus, have introduced a resolution to honor and celebrate the Indian festival of Diwali. "As co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, I am pleased to sponsor a resolution celebrating this important holiday for the Indian people and IndianAmericans here at home," Warner said. "India is the world's largest democracy, which makes our countries and our people natural partners. It's a relationship based on shared values, and its one I'd like to continue to grow." "Diwali's message of tolerance, compassion, and the victory of good over evil resonates with the American spirit," said Cornyn. "As Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and others come together to celebrate this festival of lights, let us all be reminded, as Americans, of one of our most cherished freedoms: the freedom of religion." The resolution describes Diwali as "a festival of great significance to Indian Americans and South Asian Americans, is celebrated annually by Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains throughout India, the United States, and the world." Outlining the salient features of the "festival of lights" the resolution "recognizes the religious and historical significance of the festival of Diwali." "In observance of Diwali, the festival of lights," the senate resolution also "expresses its deepest respect for Indian Americans and South Asian Americans, as well as fellow countrymen and diaspora throughout the world on this significant occasion."
Indian students enrollment in American universities dropped by 3.5 per cent
the US in 2011-12 dropped 3.5 per cent compared to the previous year, marking two consecutive years of decline. India had been the leading place of origin for international students in the US from 2001-02 through 2008-09," the report said. In 2000-01 there was a surge in enrollments from India, with an increase of 30 per cent, followed by two more years of strong growth (12 per cent in 2002-03 and seven per cent in 2003-04), the report said. However, the increases tapered off in 2004-05 and then decrease slightly in 2005-06, before resuming much larger increases in 200607 and for the next two years.
"In 2009-10, the increases leveled off, and China became the top sender and remains in that position. Students from India make up approximately 13.1 per cent of the total foreign student population in the United States," the report said. In 2011-12 only 13 per cent of the Indian students were enrolled for undergraduate studies, whereas a majority of them (58.9 per cent) are graduate students and 26.7 per cent on OPT (optional practical training). According to Open Doors, nearly three-fifths of the total Indian students are enrolled in science, engineering or mathematics courses, while in China the focus is on business management.
Obama to consult Nooyi, two Indian-Americans

Washington, DC: As part of his wider consultations on the economic crisis, President Barack Obama has invited three Indian-Americans, including PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi along with other business, labor, civic community and Congressional leaders. Neera Tandon, president of the Centre for American Progress, a leading Washington think-tank, and Deepak Bhargava from the Centre for Community Change are the other two Indian-American invitees, according to a White House official. The president this week will meet leaders from the business, labor, progressive and civic community, as well as Congressional leadership, to have discussion about the best ways to move the economy forward and find a balanced approach to reduce the deficit, he said. While Tandon and Bhargava are included among labor and progressive leaders meet-
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi
ing Obama Tuesday, Nooyi figures among the invitees for the meeting with business community leaders Wednesday.
Clashes over control of a gurdwara, 2 stabbed

Washington, DC: Two men have been stabbed outside a gurdwara in California and more than a dozen people peppersprayed in violent clashes that broke out between two groups over a power struggle to control the shrine. According to an eyewitness, violence erupted outside the Tierra Buena gurdwara in Yuba City of California at about 6:45 pm (local time) on Saturday when the meeting of its board of directors ended and some of the directors were leaving the parking lot. No arrest has been made so far, as the incident is currently being investigated, the Sutter county sheriff 's department said. Details of the incident were not available as the matter was under investigation. The board members leaving the parking lot were apparently confronted by a group of men and attacked with shovels, broom handles and sticks, as two groups of over 30 people clashed with each other. Later both sides claimed that they were attacked by the other group. The ugly event is the latest chapter in the power struggle for the gurdwara. This past September, five board members of the 73member board had sought to force the new election, which was denied by a Sutter county judge.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
Claremont Lincoln University opens a Center for Jain Studies

Los Angeles: Last fall, the nations first interreligious university, Claremont Lincoln University, located forty miles east of Los Angeles, California, saw its opening convocation, at which it celebrated a new partnership with the Jain community. This fall, on October 8, 2012, only one year since the beginning of the Jain Studies program, Claremont Lincoln University celebrated the inauguration of a new Center for Jain Studies, dedicated to furthering the work of Jain wisdom in todays world. In the course of just one year, the Jain Studies program at Claremont Lincoln has become not only the most active program at the University, but also the most active Jain Studies graduate program in the nation--already administering over a dozen programs, including hosting an annual international Jain conference; offering graduate-level Jain dharma courses each year; bringing expert Jain scholars to the area for special lectures and events; hosting an annual Ahimsa Day celebration; and coordinating a summer Jain dharma study abroad program in India for local and national scholars. With this much Jain activity hap-
Left to right: Dr. Sulekh Jain and President Jerry D. Campbell take turns lighting electric flameless candles during the Lamp lighting Ceremony at the opening of the Center for Jain Studies.
Dr. Nitin Shah (Loma Linda University), one of the main donors for the new Center for Jain Studies, speaks on the importance of education
pening on campus, the University sought to deepen collaborations with its Jain partners even further and, with philanthropic support from the Jain community, launched a Center that will serve as the hub for the many Jain Studies projects flowering out of this intimate partnership. The Centers inaugural ceremony on October 8th was held at Mudd Theater at Claremont School of Theology just before the national panel discussion of the Parliament of the Worlds Religions, in which
the Jain tradition was represented by former President of JAINA, and one of the senior advisors for the Jain Studies program at Claremont Lincoln, Dr. Sulekh Jain. In the celebratory ceremony Professor of Jain Studies, Ms. Brianne Donaldson, who has served as the Dharma Traditions Coordinator for the past year, administering the majority of the
Jain projects and activities, recounted the beginnings of the Jain Studies program and its many accomplishments so far. The new Center Coordinator, Ms. Lidiya Potapenko, followed, speaking on the central importance of ahimsa (or non-violence) in Jain dharma, and announced that the Centers mission was to put compassion and non-violence to work in the world around
us. Dr. Nitin Shah (Loma Linda University), past President of the Jain Center of Southern California and one of the main donors behind the opening of the new Center, spoke on the importance of education in the current world. To find out more about the new Center for Jain Studies at Claremont Lincoln University, visit jain.claremontlincoln.org.
South Asian groups urge Obama for immigration reform

Washington, DC: Congratulating President Barack Obama on his re-election a coalition of 40 South Asian organizations has urged him and the lawmakers to move swiftly and effectively towards enacting comprehensive immigration reform. "We welcome President Obama into his second term with much hope for policy changes that will better the futures of all Americans," the National Coalition of South Asian Organizations (NSCO) said in a statement Wednesday. Urging Obama to take leadership on and set the tone for a range of policy issues, it asked the Congress to "prioritize civil rights and liberties, particularly eliminating enforcement practices such as racial and religious profiling and surveillance, and to buttress the Administration's initiatives to end hate crimes." "These issues are crucial to all Americans, including South Asians," said the group led by South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)offering to work "with the new Administration and members of Congress to advance these policy measures over the next four years. United Sikhs, a Sikh community organization, said, "Obama's victory is a sign of continuation of civil rights journey and is symbolic for every oppressed in every imperialist country that began with freedom rides in the United States."The group "intends to work closely with the Obama administration in protecting the civil and human Rights, improve on providing increased humanitarian aid during disasters and in the field of empowerment and education to immigrant communities," said Harpreet Singh, its regional director for advocacy and policy. The Indian National Overseas Congress expressed confidence that "the warm relationship and the enduring partnership between US and India will continue to grow under the stewardship of President Obama." "The strategic relationship between our two democracies is stronger than ever and we hope to see that reaching even greater heights', said INOC President George Abraham. INOC also expressed "hope that US will not pursue protectionist policies in the future as India continues to open up its market through various reform measures such as FDI in multi-brand retail."However New York State's first elected Indian-American Sikh Mayor Harvinder "Harry" of Laurel Hollow, New York, a Republican, declined comment saying, "No comments. That should tell you how I feel."
Sikhs welcome Obama message on Diwali

Washington, DC: The Sikh community in America has welcomed President Barack Obama's message of Diwali greetings praising their resilience in the wake of the August shooting at Oak Creek gurdwara in Wisconsin. "This inspirational message reflects President Obama's compassionate heart and his commitment to create a harmonious society in America where all are respected and each faith is honored," said Rajwant Singh, chairman of the Washington based Sikh Council on Religion and Education (SCORE). "Recognizing Diwali, which is sacred to almost all faiths originating from Indian subcontinent, sends a message that America provides an opportunity for each faith to flourish and all faiths can truly enjoy the religious freedom," he said. "We are confident America will continue towards 'perfect union' as envisaged by the US constitution under the able leadership of President Obama for another four years," Rajwant Singh said. "We also pray for the victims of Hurricane Sandy and all the volunteers and officials who are trying their best to bring comfort to those who have lost so much in this natural disaster," Rajwant Singh said. "Sikh community is thankful to President Obama for his prompt actions to support the community in wake of Wisconsin Gurdwara tragedy and looking forward to assisting him in his agenda to lead this nation in the right direction," he said. Referring to the Oak Creek shooting, President Barack Obama said in his Diwali message: "In the wake of that horrible tragedy, we saw the resilience of a community that drew strength from their faith and a sense of solidarity with their neighbors, Sikh and non-Sikh alike."
Hindu Students Council congratulates Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard

Washington, DC: Tulsi Gabbard's election to the US Congress serves as an inpiration to Hindu Students. The Hindu Students Council offered its heartiest congratulations to the newly elected Congresswoman for her victory in Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District. Gabbard's election is particularly inspiring for Hindu students currently studying American politics and aspire for careers in the United States government as elected officials. "Great strides are made with the election of Tulsi Gabbard to congress. This will set a wonderful example for many more Hindu voices and women to be heard in American politics," said HSC President Priya Radhakrishnan. "I think the Hindu community will realize that although they are a minority in the United States, this is a big step in both the understanding and eventually acceptance of Indian heritage and values. And perhaps they will be more inclined to join or participate in various government/local forums," said Vivek Jaishanker, a member of the Rutgers University Hindu Students Council chapter. "It's very heartening to be able to look up to someone who serves in political office and is not afraid to say she is Hindu," he added.
NATIONAL COMMUNITY
For Sanskrit, with love

Overland Park, KS: Mama naama Nareshah. Bhavatah naama kim? (My name is Naresh, What is your name?) - Naresh, a part time Samskrita Bharati USA teacher and a full time Research Engineer in New York, introduced himself in Samskrit to the 20+ class of interested participants in Overland Park, Kansas, who attended the first ever spoken Samskrit beginner camp in Kansas city metro area. I am still a student of Samskrit, he says, with a smile on his face. None of the 20+ participants (including four ladies and four children), could speak Samskrit when they signed up but they had a burning desire to arm themselves with the divine language in which the Vedic scriptures have been written. I find chanting in Samskrit elevating and very relaxing, said Loga Ganesh, an enthusiastic participant. The class was extremely interactive and filled with funny comments. Even though Naresh spoke only in Samskrit for the entire weekend, the students were able to understand him well. By following simple examples and with little effort, the small group empowered itself to showcase simple conversations around simple situations like receiving a guest in a restaurant or planning a trip to Niagara Falls. This kind of a gathering is quite uncommon in America, where English and Spanish are more prominent. However, Samskrit is growing here, thanks to the dedication of over a hundred Samskrit teachers of Samskrita Bharati USA, a non-profit organization that promotes spoken Samskrit through group learning. The teaching methodology focuses on conversational Samskrit to build fluency first. As the students become more comfortable and fluent in the language, advanced topics such as grammar and literary works are taught. The event was organized in partnership with Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA, another non-profit that promotes Hindu cultural values and activities across USA. Following the camp, the group plans to conduct group learning exercises on a weekly basis under the supervision of a teacher and prepare for the Level 2 Samskrit workshop in March 2013. For those who could not make it to the first workshop, another Level1 spoken Samskrit workshop will be held on 12-13th Jan 2013. For more information on Samskrit-related activities in the Kansas City area, contact Rakesh at 913-593-1689 or Gaurav at 678462-6203. Visit www.samskritabharati.org for more information about Samskrita Bharati.
Priyanka Chopra- first Indian celebrity on X Factor

The Barfi! actor, who has been regularly visiting Los Angeles and New York to promote the single and its official music video, was sent a special invite to appear on the show. A source close to the actor reveals, "Priyanka has been interacting with the international media as part of the promotions for a while now. As a result, people in America now have a fair idea of who she is. Probably that's why she was invited." According to the source, when Priyanka shot for the top-rated reality show on November 8, the audience too didn't take too long to recognize her. "The song seems to have got her a lot of mainstream popularity," adds the insider. During her time spent on the show, apparently the actor also bonded with the franchise creator Simon Cowell, the man who is most-popularly known for his caustic comments as a judge on American Idol.
Priyanka Chopra
Sanskrit beginner course in progress
Mumbai: Priyanka Chopra's debut single, 'In my city', which has garnered a lot of attention in the west, has now earned her another honor. The actor recently became the first Indian celebrity to feature on the American show, X Factor. Priyanka Chopra.
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ence and win big this holiday season. Participants who register at LH.com/ChaiLounge are automatically entered into the drawing for the Grand Prize: two round-trip Lufthansa Economy Class tickets to India. Keeping the spirit of giving alive during Diwali, a special prize was raffled on the day of the celebration of the festival of lights. One lucky participant will win exclusive Lufthansa
luggage and branded travel merchandise. Lufthansas virtual Chai Lounge is packed with more fun elements to bring family and friends together. An exciting Daily Trivia game with questions related to Sports, Entertainment, Travel, Food and of course Chai, challenges visitors to the site to test their knowledge and be rewarded with a chance win an Apple iPad every
week. The interactive ChaiLounge micro site also offers additional engaging opportunities: a fun Chai Personality Quiz, Chai Fun Facts, and a chance to explore the Chai culture in the current Lufthansa-India destinations. If you are planning a trip back home, avail the opportunity to book right from the comfort of the virtual Lufthansa Chai Lounge! *Lufthansa offers convenient connections to key destinations in India: Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. Whether visiting friends and family, undertaking a business trip or just exploring the diversity of India, take advantage of great LufthansaIndia special offers. Enjoy a special experience on your next Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Delhi and Bangalore: exclusive comfort on the Queen of the Skies, the new Boeing 747-8. Happy travels and happy holidays from the Lufthansa family. Prepare your favorite blend and pour some Chailet the fun begin at LH.com/ChaiLounge! Promotion ends November 25, 2012. *destinations and flight schedule subject to change without notice.
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October 17-23, 2012
US AFFAIRS
No evidence of security breach in Petraeus scandal: Obama

Washington: President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he has "no evidence" of security breach in connection with the resignation of CIA chief David Petraeus over an extramarital affair. "I have no evidence at this point, from what I've seen, that classified information was disclosed that would have had a negative impact on our national security," Obama told reporters in his first news conference since his reelection last week. Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Obama addressed a range of issues Wednesday, including a possible standoff with Republicans over his proposed tax hikes for the wealthiest Americans, the deadly attack on US Embassy in Libya, his plans to deal with Iran's nuclear ambitions, and the civil war in Syria. Obama was clearly eager to move on from questions about the salacious circumstances surrounding Petraeus' exit from the CIA, saying he is "withholding judgment" on a decision by the FBI to wait until after the Nov 6 election to inform the White House of Petraeus' affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell. The FBI is said to have learned of the illicit relationship this past summer amid an investigation into Broadwell's alleged cyberharassment of a woman she reportedly perceived as a rival for the US spy chief's affections. Law enforcement officials cited by US media have said they withheld information about the case from top US officials because it had not reached the threshold of a national security concern. The Petraeus case has also ensnared Gen. John Allen, the top American commander in Afghanistan, who is being investigated for possible "inappropriate communications" with a Florida socialite allegedly harassed by Broadwell via anonymous emails. Petraeus is scheduled to testify before a US Senate committee Thursday about the Sep 11 attack on an American embassy compound in Benghazi, which left four Americans diplomats dead, including the US ambassador to Libya. Obama also said Wednesday that he planned to "make a push in the coming months" to "open up a dialogue" with Iran and dissuade Tehran from pursuing a nuclear weapon. On the matter of the Syrian Civil War, Obama said he is not prepared to recognize the Syrian opposition as a "government in exile", though he said he does consider the umbrella group seeking to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad "a legitimate representative of the aspirations of the Syrian people."
The messy Petraeus affair

By Vikas Girdhar New York: CIA Director David Petraeus resigned from his position last week over his extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell was brought to light. Now it comes to light that their affair began late last year, just two months after he was appointed Director of the spy agency and when he was no longer an active military officer. He ended the affair this summer when reports that Broadwell was sending threatening emails to Jill Kelley, a longtime friend of the Petraeuses, began to surface. The FBIs investigation into those threatening emails, which led the Bureau to Broadwells inbox, is what uncovered the possibility of an affair between Broadwell and Petraeus. The two had concocted a plan of typed intimate email drafts in a shared account that could be read when either one logged in, to avoid leaving an obvious email trail. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper learned of the affair on November 6 and advised Petraeus to resign. Clapper then notified the White House the next day and Petraeus offered his resignation on November 8 to President Obama. In his explanation, Petraeus cited the affair as the principal reason for stepping down. Petraeus wife, Hollister Holly Knowlton, was furious but is expected to stand by her husband of 38 years. Dr. Scott Broadwell, a 43year old radiologist who met Paula in Germany when they both served in the military, is not as much of a lock to stay in his marriage. They have two sons together.
CIA Director David Petraeus and his biographer-mistress Paula Broadwell.
Latest updates of the scandal include Petraeus insistence that he never shared classified information with Broadwell and that his resignation had nothing to do with his expected upcoming testimony of Benghazi attacks that killed four American diplomats. Petraeus was a four-star general in the US Army for 37 years prior to assuming the top position in the CIA. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2009, which his family said would not interfere in any way with his work performance.
Panetta orders military ethics review in wake of Petraeus sex scandal

Bangkok: Citing a string of ethical lapses by senior military officers, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has asked the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review ethics training and to brainstorm on ways to steer officers away from trouble. The move is a reflection of the depth of concern triggered by a series of misconduct cases in a military that prides itself on integrity and honor but has suffered an unusual number of stumbles after a decade of war. In a memo to Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Panetta made no explicit reference to the David Petraeus sex scandal, which also has ensnared the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen. Previously, Panetta had declined to describe the nature of the emails and other correspondence between Allen and Florida socialite Jill Kelley, which others have called flirtatious and potentially problematic for the Marine four-star general. Sources have told CBS News that Paula Broadwell, Petraeus' biographer and mistress, allegedly sent an anonymous email to Allen warning him that Kelley was "a seductress." Panetta's press secretary, George Little, said the memo was the product of internal Pentagon discussions that began before Petraeus announced he was resigning as CIA director because of an extramarital affair. "I will emphasize very strongly that the secretary was going to embark on this course long before the matters that have come to light over the past week," Little said. He added that Panetta believes the vast majority of senior military officers serve with distinction and in accordance with ethical standards.
BP to plead guilty, pay $4.5 billion for oil spill

New Orleans: BP said Thursday it is in advanced discussions with the Department of Justice on a deal that would resolve all criminal charges and claims by the SEC in connection with the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill that killed 11 workers in 2010 and unleashed the worst offshore oil spill in US history. The British energy company said it will plead guilty to 11 felony counts of "misconduct or neglect of ships officers" relating to the deaths aboard the drilling rig, and to one felony count of obstruction of Congress stemming from information it gave about the rate that oil was leaking from the well. A 2010 Journal investigation found the doomed oil rig was unprepared for disaster, hobbled by a complex chain of command and a balky decision-making structure. The company also will plead guilty to a misdemeanor count under the Clean Water Act and another misdemeanor under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. BP said it will pay $2.394 billion to
Combative Obama vows to raise taxes on the rich

Washington: Flush with victory, a combative President Barack Obama made clear he would push hard to increase taxes on the rich, fiercely defended his UN ambassador and insisted the Petraeus affair had not caused a security breach. Laying out his second term agenda at his first post-election press conference Wednesday he made clear his approach to negotiations over the fiscal cliff - the impending tax rises and automatic spending cuts that would go into effect Jan 1 if no deal is reached and push the country into another recession. "When it comes to the top 2 percent, what I'm not going to do is to extend further a tax cut for folks who don't need it, which would cost close to $1 trillion," Obama said, referring to the tax cuts made by former president George Bush that apply to income over $200,000. "And it's very difficult to see how you make up that $1 trillion -- if we're serious about deficit reduction -- just by closing loopholes and deductions." His starting position will be for a broad $4 trillion deficit-reduction plan that includes $1.6 trillion in new revenue, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Tuesday. The basis for it is Obama's 2013 budget proposal from last February. Fiercely defending the US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice for her handling of the Benghazi affair, Obama called out Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain for their "outrageous" comments that they would block her if she is nominated for secretary of state. "If Senator McCain and Senator Graham and others want to go after someone they should go after me," Obama said.
the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation over five years and $350 million to the National Academy of Sciences over five years. "We apologize for our role in the accident, and as today's resolution with the U.S. government further reflects, we have accepted responsibility for our actions." said Bob Dudley, BP's group chief Executive, in a statement. Meanwhile, two men who worked for BP during the 2010 oil spill disaster have been charged
with manslaughter and a third with lying to federal investigators, according to indictments made public Thursday, hours after BP announced its settlement deal. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said at a news conference in New Orleans that the settlement and indictments aren't the end of federal authorities' efforts and that the criminal investigation is continuing. Holder says much of the money BP has agreed to pay will be used to restore the environment in the Gulf.
US AFFAIRS
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Romney attributes loss to 'gifts' Obama gave minorities

Washington: In another comment reminiscent of his 47% remark, Mitt Romney said in a conference call to big donors that the President gave 'a lot of stuff' to African Americans, Latinos and young people during his first term in order to secure their votes. He said Wednesday in a call listened to by a couple of journalists that his loss to President Obama was due in large part to his rival's strategy of giving "gifts" during his first term to three groups that were pivotal in the results of last week's election. "The Obama campaign was following the old playbook of giving a lot of stuff to groups that they hoped they could get to vote for them and be motivated to go out to the polls, specifically the African American community, the Hispanic community and young people," Romney told hundreds of donors during a telephone town hall. "In each case they were very generous in what they gave to those groups." Romney's frank analysis echoed his secretly taped comments at a May fundraiser, where he told a small group of donors that 47% of the electorate was unlikely to vote for him because they paid no income taxes and were dependent on government. It followed his running mate Paul D. Ryan's assertion making $25, or $30, or $35,000 a year, being told you're now going to get free healthcare particularly if you don't have it, getting free healthcare worth, what, $10,000 a family, in perpetuity, I mean this is huge. Likewise with Hispanic voters, free healthcare was a big plus." Pivoting to immigration, Romney said the Obama campaign's efforts to paint him as "anti-immigrant" had been effective and that the administration's promise to offer what he called "amnesty" to the children of undocumented immigrants had helped turn out Latino voters in record numbers. "With regards to Hispanic voters, the amnesty for the children of illegals the so-called Dream Act kids was a huge plus for that voting group," he said. "On the negative side, of course, they always characterized us as being anti-immigrant, being tough on illegal immigration, and so forth, so that was very effective with that group." "The president's campaign," he said, "focused on giving targeted groups a big gift so he made a big effort on small things. Those small things, by the way, add up to trillions of dollars." Romney's analysis that voters had essentially been persuaded by financial benefit to vote for Obama pushed aside criticisms of his own campaign. Analysts who have studied the vote, for example, have given credit to Obama's massive get-out-the-vote effort, which dwarfed its Republican counterpart.
Campaign signs are removed in Manchester, N.H. A presidential bid gone with the wind!
that Obama's win stemmed from turnout among "urban" voters. Both were at odds with the election results Obama won several key states without large cities or minority populations. And he did so in part by asserting that it was Romney who was planning to disburse gifts by virtue of a budget plan that included tax breaks heavily skewed toward the wealthy. The Los Angeles Times listened in to the Wednesday call, but Romney did not appear to be aware of the presence of reporters. Young voters, Romney said, were motivated by the administration's plan for partial forgiveness of college loan interest, the extension of
health coverage for students up to age 26 on their parents' insurance plans and free contraception coverage under Obama's healthcare plan, which he credited with ushering greater numbers of college-age women into Obama's coalition. Romney said the Obama healthcare plan's promise of coverage "in perpetuity" was behind the intensity of support for the president among African American voters making $25,000 to $35,000, as well as Hispanic voters: "With regards to African American voters, 'Obamacare' was a huge plus and was highly motivational to African American voters. You can imagine for somebody
NBA commissioner estimates revenue of record $5 billion

Washington: National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern estimates the revenue for current NBA season will rise by some 20 percent from last season to reach a record of $5 billion. A year after a lockout that delayed the start of the season to Dec 25, Stern estimates revenue for the year ending next Sep 30 will be up to $5 billion, which will be the third among the major North American leagues following the NFL ($9 billion) and MLB ($7.5 billion), Xinhua reports. "I would say that China, which is the largest segment outside the US, is doing very well. I would say we'll see that to some degree as well in Turkey, in Africa, in Brazil," said Stern at Beyond Sport United, a gathering of global team, league and industry executives at Yankee Stadium that focuses on social responsibility. "The components are broadcast, digital, merchandise, marketing partnerships and events, which can be games and the 3-on-3 tournaments and clinics, any variety of events that draw people," he added. According to Stern who will retire Feb 1, 2014, 30 years after he took the position, NBA matches are being broadcast in 46 languages to 216 countries and regions around the world.
Bobby Jindal distances himself from Romney

"I don't think we advance this discussion or debate by insulting folks," Jindal said. "Look, the Republicans need to stick to our principles, but we need to treat other people with respect. "Even those we don't agree with, we need to show them we respect them and their beliefs. We can disagree without being disagreeable. Republicans said a lot of dumb things. We need to condemn the remarks." Among those dumb things, Jindal said, were comments from Republican Senate candidates in Indiana and Missouri about rape and abortion, which drew consternation from Democrats and Republicans. Both candidates lost their bids by wide margins in races that were previously close. Ultimately, the 2012 presidential race is in the history books, and Jindal said he wasn't sure "how much benefit there is to continue to look back." But in a separate article for CNN Jindal said Republicans do not need to abandon their core principles to win future elections. "In the aftermath of the presidential election, Republicans have been inundated with advice to moderate, equivocate, and even abandon their core principles as a necessary prerequisite for winning future elections," he wrote. "That is absurd. America already has one liberal political party; there is no need for another one," Jindal wrote. "Make no mistake: Despite losing an election, conservative ideals still hold true." "The Republican party does have a lot of work to do. But changing our principles is not a winning strategy. We need to modernize, not moderate," he said outlining seven lessons Republicans should learn in order to move forward. His roadmap: "Stop looking backward; Compete for every single vote; Reject identity politics; Stop being the stupid party; Stop insulting the intelligence of voters; Quit "big" and Focus on people, not government."
The name of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal is often mentioned as a possible Republican presidential nominee in 2016.
Washington: Quickly distancing himself from the defeated Republican presidential nominee, Louisiana's Indian-American governor Bobby Jindal has said Mitt Romney's comments about the manner of his defeat were unhelpful to the party. A frequent subject of 2016 presidential speculation, Jindal reiterated Thursday his irritation at Romney's remarks during a conference call with donors that President Barack Obama won votes by offering "gifts" to African-Americans, Hispanics and young voters. "This is completely unhelpful," Jindal told CNN Thursday "This is not where the Republican Party needs to go. If you want voters to like you, the first thing you've got to do is like them first." Jindal who made similar comments Wednesday in Las Vegas, where he and other governors are attending a meeting of the Republican Governors Association linked the latest Romney comments to the candidate's remarks at a closed door fund-raiser in May. The Republican nominee had then argued that 47 percent of Americans were "victims" dependent on government and would never vote for him.
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INDIA
Bal Thackeray's condition improving: Uddhav

Mumbai: Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray said that his ailing father and party chief Bal Thackeray's condition was 'stable'. Restive crowds thronged his residence Matoshri and parts of the city remained closed during the day. "He is stable and we are doing everything we can...His health is improving...He is better than yesterday...We have still not given up hopes," Uddhav declared before a large crowd of activists and mediapersons outside the family residence Matoshri in Bandra. "We are all praying for him, and it is the strength of our prayers that will see him through this crisis," Uddhav said, in his fourth media appearance in the past 20 hours. Earlier in the day, other party leaders also made similar statements on the 86-year old leader's health condition. "We appeal to all to remain calm and pray for him. We are grateful for the prayers and support of millions of Thackeray's admirers and supporters all over India," party leader Subhash Desai brother Randhir, Salim Khan and son Salman Khan, Manoj Kumar, Madhur Bhandarkar, Bappi Lahiri, industrialists V.N. Dhoot, Rahul Bajaj and others visited Matoshri to enquire about Thackeray's delicate health. ollowing the positive announcements made by several leaders, Mumbaikars relaxed though crowds of supporters continued to throng Bandra East and the entire area remained under a security blanket. Earlier, Uddhav Thackeray made repeated appeals to the people to "maintain peace and remain calm". He had come out to address the swelling crowds, after news spread that Balasaheb's condition was critical, and said: "I have not lost hope. We are facing a crisis, we shall overcome." Thackeray has been under the care of a team of specialists from Lilavati Hospital, Bandra West, at his home. According to party leaders, a virtual ICU had been created at Matoshri with all emergency equipment and medical and paramedical staff on duty round-theclock. The chief minister is understood to have discussed the security arrangements in Mumbai and the rest of the state with police and civil officials in the afternoon. Mumbai Police and other security agencies have made heavy security arrangements outside Matoshri and in large parts of Bandra East, barely a stone's throw away from the CBD, Bandra-Kurla Complex, which also houses the US Consulate and the British Deputy High Commission. Over 350 police personnel, Rapid Action Force and other contingents led by senior officers have deployed security in the vicinity to prevent any untoward incidents. Notwithstanding the security, tension spread. There were reports that all shootings in Goregaon Film City had stopped and some theaters had stopped movie screenings. Large parts of Mumbai and suburbs remained closed for businesses as news of Thackeray's delicate health spread Thursday morning.
According to party leaders, a virtual ICU had been created at Bal Thackeray's residence Matoshri with all emergency equipment
said in the evening. He told reporters that a team of doctors was constantly attending on Thackeray and his condition was "gradually improving". Other leaders, including Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, also Thackeray's nephew, assured the people that his condition was "stabilising". "I am appealing to workers to disperse. He is absolutely stable," Raut said.
A steady stream of VVIPs, industrialists and glamour world personalities continued to visit the Thackeray residence. Amongst them were Governor K. Sankaranarayanan, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Home Minister R.R. Patil, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Nitin Gadkari and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar. Glamour world personalities like Amitabh Bachchan and his son Abhishek, Rishi Kapoor with
NUICC to open India headquarters in Jaipur

By Prakash Bhandari Jaipur: The prestigious National US India Chamber of Commerce (NUICC) is set to open its India headquarters in Jaipur. The India office will become operational by January next year, announced Purnima Voria, CEO, NUICC and National Advisor to the Obama Administration, United States Deptartment of Commerce, in Jaipur. She further announced that Apurv Kumar, Managing Director of the Clarks Group of Hotels, has been chosen by the NUICC Board to be the Country Head of NUICC in India. "Kumar is an innovator in the hospitality industry for close to three decades and is a well known name in the business world. As a Country Head of NUICC, he will also be instrumental in giving the countrys trade a fillip worldwide," she said. "It is to be noted that the Chambers India It will be a national wide effort," Voria added. Kumar said the decision of NUICC will certainly give an impetus to business and industrialization. He added that he is aware of the onerous responsibility of heading the NUICC office in India and hope to strengthen the US-India bilateral trade. Meanwhile, the state government, industrial and trade bodies as well as opposition leaders have welcomed the decision of NUICC to open its India office in Jaipur. Rajendra Pareek, state Industries Minister, said that I am happy to learn that Rajasthan has been chosen by the prestigious NUICC to open its India headquarter in Jaipur. NUICC focuses on bringing together foreign investors interested in developing their businesses in India and connecting with those that can make them succeed.
SP readies for 2014 polls, announces candidates

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) has announced 55 candidates for the next general elections expected only in 2014, the first off the block in the race to Parliament. Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav announced 55 candidates for the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state. While SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav will again contest from Mainpuri and his daughterin-law Dimple Yadav will fight from Kannauj, 16 more MPs have been repeated.
Purnima Voria, CEO, National US India Chamber of Commerce (NUICC), announcing the decision to open its India office in Jaipur
office will strictly provide a platform to consummate business deals successfully with serious follow ups efforts to ensure business communities interests.
Obituary
K.C. Pant dead, PM offers condolences

Pant died of a heart attack at his residence here, sources close to the family said. He is survived by wife Ila, a former parliamentarian, and sons Ranjan and Sunil. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Defence Minister A.K. Antony condoled Pant's death soon after the news came in. Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari also expressed his deep sorrow. Popularly known as K.C. Pant, he was the union defense minister between 1987 and 1989 when the Congress was in power with Rajiv Gandhi as the prime minister. Pant was the son of former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and former union home minister Govind Ballabh Pant. Born in 1931 in Nainital, Pant studied at St. Joseph's College, did his Master's from Lucknow University and joined the Congress.He was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962 at the age of 31. He continued his winning streak in subsequent Lok Sabha polls in 1967 and 1971, and was again elected in 1989. He became a Rajya Sabha member in 1978 and leader of the house 1979-80.With 26 years as a parliamentarian, Pant served as minister of defence, finance, steel and heavy engineering, home affairs, electronics, atomic energy and science and technology in the union government. Pant was also the first chairman of the advisory board on energy. In 1998, when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to power, Pant joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was appointed deputy chairman of the Planning Commission by Vajpayee, who, as prime minister, was the panel's chairman. Pant served in the position till 2004, when the NDA was voted out in the general elections. Pant's wife, Ila Pant was elected to the 12th Lok Sabha in 1998 on a BJP ticket from Nainital.In his condolence message to Ila Pant, the prime minister described K.C. Pant as "a leader who served our country and people with great distinction" and said in his passing away, the country "has lost an eminent public figure and an able administrator". Defence Minister A.K. Antony also expressed "profound grief" and hailed Pant for steering the ministry at one of the most critical junctures when Indian forces were deployed in Sri Lanka on a peace-keeping mission.
India's former defense minister Krishna Chandra Pant
New Delhi: India's former defense minister and Planning Commission deputy chairman Krishna Chandra Pant died of a heart attack on November 15. He was 81.
INDIA
13
Rahul to head Congress 2014 poll panel

New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi will head the six-member Congress coordination panel for the 2014 general elections constituted by party chief Sonia Gandhi, the party has announced. Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi in a release said Rahul Gandhi, who already has a de facto number 2 status in the party, tops the list of members of the crucial Election Coordination Committee for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Among other members of the panel are Sonia Gandhi's political adviser Ahmed Patel, party general secretaries Janardan Dwivedi, Digvijaya Singh and Madhusudan Mistry and party strategist and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh. The Congress president also formed three sub-groups under the panel to look after specific issues such as pre-poll alliances, manifesto and government programmes, and communications and publicity. The announcement on the groups was made at the party's 'Samvad Baithak' (Dialogue Session) held Nov 4 at Surajkund, a town bordering Delhi in Haryana. While Rahul's close aide and Minister for Youth Affairs Jitendra Singh has been included in the sub-group on pre-poll alliances, other young leaders such as Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, Power Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, MP Deepender Hooda (son of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder
BJP, Gurumurthy again back Gadkari

New Delhi: Seeking to end panies that invested in the Purti internal tensions and scotch Group he heads. speculations about BJP chief Gurumurthy, a chartered Nitin Gadkari not getting a accountant considered close to clean chit from the party over BJP's mentor the Rashtriya financial dealings of a company Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he is linked to, the BJP and RSS wrote a letter to Gadkari acolyte S. Gurumurthy reiteratWednesday that he wished to ed that there was no moral or formally place on record his legal wrongdoing by Gadkari. views - earlier expressed at the The reiteration came a day party's core committee meeting BJP president after Gurumurthy's varying here Nov 6 - which had led the Nitin Gadkari tweets led sections of media to party giving a virtual clean chit say that he had not given a clean chit to Gadkari to its chief. following his analysis of the accounts of Purti Gurumurthy wrote that he found no wrongdogroup, to which Gadkari is linked. ing by Gadkari in documents related to Purti The BJP has been bracing internal tensions and accused the media of giving a political over Gadkari's continuation in office following colour to the issue following some of his allegations about financial transactions of com- tweets.
Rahul Gandhi will head the six-member Congress coordination panel Singh Hooda), and Congress spokesman Sandeep Dikshit have been included in the sub-panel on communications and publicity. Rahul's imprint was also visible on the Manmohan Singh cabinet reshuffle Oct 28, which had brought in a mix of youth and experience. Ever since, there has been speculation that Rahul Gandhi may be given a more prominent role in the party during the planned organisational reshuffle. Thursday's announcement is being seen in the party as giving a clear leadership role to Rahul Gandhi as the Congress, hit hard by allegations of corruption over the past one year, prepares for the next big electoral challenge of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Rahul is also expected to rope in more younger leaders for party work.
UPA, Congress question CAG over 2G

New Delhi: A day after the much-hyped 2G spectrum auction turned out to be a damp squib, both the UPA government and the Congress questioned the Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai's claim of estimated loss of Rs.1.76 lakh crore in the spectrum allocation in 2008. The 2G spectrum auction Wednesday yielded only Rs.9,407 crore, much below Rs.40,000 crore the government expected. Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari asked Rai why the spectrum auction yield was nowhere close to his estimated loss. "Mr. CAG, where is the Rs.1.76 lakh crore? I think it is time for some serious introspection. It's time the CAG introspects on his processes and it is high time that the BJP and some of the other opposition parties, which had made this their holy grail and swan song of politics over the last two years, should publicly apologise," Tewari told reporters. Taking a dig at the CAG, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said: "The CAG should reconsider how far its estimate was right with regard to the report, which it had earlier given and the losses that it had computed."
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INDIA
Suu Kyi seeks deeper ties with India

New Delhi: Myanmar's opposition leader and pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi hoped for deepening of exchanges between parliaments of the two countries and underlined that her nation was moving on the path of democracy "in a slow and steady manner". Suu Kyi, the chairperson of National League for Democracy, on a six-day visit to the country, met Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar in parliament for half an hour in the afternoon. In her interaction, Suu Kyi said that her country was moving on the path of democracy in a slow and steady manner. "Myanmar would require cooperation of its valued neighbors, especially India, in this endeavour," she said. She hoped that the spirit of democracy and rule of law would be further deepened and the cased the power of the people. A day after she met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Suu Kyi also called on Vice-President Hamid Ansari and met External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid. Lauding Suu Kyi's abiding commitment to the people of her country, Meira Kumar assured Suu Kyi that the Indian parliament would continue to share its experience in parliamentary practices and procedures with Myanmar. The Bureau of Parliamentary Studies and Training (BPST) of the Lok Sabha Secretariat organised many study trips for MPs and parliamentary officers of Myanmar in the last couple of years. This year, around 30 parliamentarians and 30 officials of Myanmar parliament have benefited from such programmes.
India launches probe against Wal-Mart

New Delhi: India is investigating Wal-Mart Stores Inc. over allegations it violated the country's foreign exchange rules, a senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter, told Reuters on Friday. A parliamentarian has accused Wal-Mart of "clandestinely and illegally" investing $100 million in the multibrand retail business of its wholesale joint venture partner, Bharti Enterprises, as early as 2010, before India allowed foreign companies to operate front-end stores. "Yes, the Enforcement Directorate has initiated an investigation into the allegations against Wal-Mart," said the official, who declined to be named.
Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
engagement between the two parliaments would take bilateral ties to greater heights. The charismatic leader, who spent decades under house arrest
and is known for her heroic struggle against the all-powerful military junta in Myanmar, underlined that she preferred a turbulent parliament over a quiet one as it show-
US should raise Tibet issue with China: Lobsang
Opposition to target FDI in retail in Parliament

New Delhi: With the CPI-M joining in, the opposition sent a strong message of its intention to target the government in the winter session of parliament over FDI in retail. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government expressed its confidence about meeting the challenge, but it was clear it faces an uphill task persuading its allies on the issue as some of them opposed the decision in the past. The DMK, the second-largest constituent in the ruling UPA with 18 members in the Lok Sabha, has been scrupulously silent on the FDI till now. The Samajwadi Party (SP) has opposed FDI in multi-brand retail but has cited "political compulsions" to keep giving support to the UPA government. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has spoken of the possibility of backing FDI in the future if it benefits farmers and consumers. Both the SP and BSP provide crucial outside support to the UPA government, whose tally fell below the half-way mark in September after the Trinamool Congress pulled out from the alliance. The Trinamool Congress, like the BJP and the Left, is firmly opposed to the FDI in retail. Communist Party of IndiaMarxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters Wednesday that party members have served notices in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha seeking discussion on the FDI under rules that entail voting. "We wish to take it up for a proper discussion under rules that entail
Lobsang Sangay, leader of the Tibetan people
Dharamsala: The US can make its "Asia pivot even more meaningful by raising the issue of Tibet with China", said Lobsang Sangay, the democratically elected leader of the Tibetan people, as new Chinese leaders were announced in Beijing. "Tibetans in Tibet are crying out for justice, including autonomy and freedom to worship they have been promised by Beijing over the years," the political successor of the Dalai Lama said in an opinion piece published in Wall Street Journal. A day later, Xi Jinping was elected the powerful general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and he in turn introduced six other newly-elected members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau. Sangay said some 72 Tibetans have set themselves on fire (in Tibet), 70 of them since March 2011, and five in one day this month alone. The common cry of all selfimmolators is the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans.
Describing US President Barack Obama's visit to Asia, his first foreign trip after re-election, as his administration's foreign policy pivot to Asia, the elected head of the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) said the Tibetans have invested in democracy and non-violence for the last five decades. "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has made reassuring statements on US commitment to human rights and democracy, and Ambassador Gary Locke recently visited Tibetan areas. The next four years present an opportunity for the Obama administration to build on the positive start from the visit to the three Asian Buddhist countries and make its Asia pivot even more meaningful by raising the issue of Tibet with China." Solving the Tibet problem will help improve relations between China and India, said 43-year-old Sangay adding that it would allow Tibetans to resume their traditional role of being responsible stewards of Tibet's immense natural resources.
The winter session of Parliament begins from November 22
voting," Yechury said. He said the government should consider taking parliament's approval for the FDI and "not go behind cover". The winter session of parliament begins from November 22. Yechury hoped other parties would join the CPI-M in opposing the government's move. Party leader Basudeb Acharia said that opposing the FDI was his party's "top priority" in the winter session. Acharia indicated that the Left parties also intended to raise the issues of price rise, controversy surrounding coal blocks allocation and alleged favours to Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in land deals by the Haryana government. BJP spokersperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said the party will oppose FDI and coordinate with National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies and other opposition parties on the issue.
"We will totally oppose foreign direct investment (FDI) in the upcoming parliament session. The strategy for opposition will also be discussed within the NDA and also with other parties opposed to FDI," Prasad said. He said the decision on the FDI in retail was not in the interest of the country and accused the government of violating its assurance to have consultations on the issue. Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari expressed confidence of bracing the opposition challenge and said the Congress would "cross the bridge when it comes to it". "The parliament session has not begun yet. The floor leaders of the various political parties are yet to meet. When push comes to shove, we will not be found wanting," he said. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the party was not afraid of any debate in parliament.
TRISTATE DIWALI
15
Indian-Americans celebrate Diwali with fervor
Diwali celebrations at the British Embassy residence in Washington. British Deputy Head of Mission Mr. Philip Barton (third from left) is seen here with representatives of the Hindu, Sikh and Jain community. Mr. Barton told an eminent gathering of Indian-Americans from distinct fields: Our relationship - the United Kingdoms relationship with India, with the Hindu, Sikh and Jain community - is not only very long-standing, but it is also very important and forward-looking. Diwali itself is a great festival!
Above : Almost 1500 items of Annakutt at BAPS Swaminarayan Edison Mandir made great presentation
Annakut Photos: Vijay Shah/ Freelance US Media
Multi dimentional screen projection was the main attraction at BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Edison, NJ
Right: Annakutt at BAPS Swaminarayan Edison Mandir presented by the youth wing of BAPS Mandir generated a lot of interest among the younger generation.
Robbinsville, NJ BAPS Mandir remained talk of the town for its religious activities as various neighboring communities and people of different ethnicity visited the Mandir
All kinds of vegetables and fruits were used for making Deepawali decoration at Shri Dwarkadhish Temple in Parlin, NJ
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DIWALI IN INDIA
India celebrates Diwali with fervor

fruits, and other goodies ranging from Hindu idols to precious jewelry. With traditional greeting cards losing out to e-cards and SMS greetings, mobile telephone companies made a huge kill. "I made a rangoli with colored stones, flowers and candles depicting Ganesha," said Bipin Sharma, a 34-year-old in Lucknow. Many opted for exquisite rangolis outside their houses, decking them up with floral garlands. Satish Reddy, a software engineer in Hyderabad, said: "We prepare special sweets like 'payasam'. Our non-Hindu friends visit to celebrate with us in the evenings." Diwali festival every year sees mass migration of working people from major urban centres to their hometowns and villages. "I am celebrating with my parents in Gujarat," said Arpana Singh, a journalist based in Mumbai. "In the process, I am giving rest to my mother from kitchen chores too." In Delhi, which sees a high number of fire accidents every Diwali, police said they were on high alert. Also on Diwali, which falls on Amavasya (no moon day), people offer prayers to the departed.
Kerala has modest Diwali celebrations

Children playing with firecrackers in Ahmedabad
New Delhi: Diwali was celebrated with joy and gaiety across India as millions lit candles and 'diyas', exploded crackers and shared sweets and gifts with friends and neighbors. By late evening, hundreds of thousands of traditional earthen lamps and electric festoon lights brightened homes, shops and work places in what is undoubtedly India's most celebrated festival. The picture was the same in city after city, town after town. The
festival of lights marks the triumph of good over evil, and is widely believed to mark the return of Lord Ram to Ayodhya after vanquishing the demon king Ravana. The first report of Diwali celebrations came from Tamil Nadu where, in keeping with tradition, people exploded firecrackers just before dawn and, after a traditional oil bath, offered prayers and burst more crackers. Across the country, people
prayed to Lord Ganesha and Goddess Lakshmi at home and in temples. Diwali prayers were also offered in innumerable offices and business establishments. "We visited the temple in the morning and then the market to buy lots of crackers," said an excited Karan Gupta, a 14-yearold from Vasant Kunj in south Delhi. Almost everywhere, there was plenty of last minute shopping -for gifts, plenty of sweets and dry
hiruvananthapuram: Except for being a public holiday on account of Diwali, by and large the festival of lights is an event that has little celebrations in Kerala, unlike in neighboring states. The celebrations are mostly limited to bursting of crackers and that too in cities like Thiruvanathapuram, Kochi and in towns bordering Mangalore in the Kasaragode district and in Palakkad bordering Coimbatore. In the capital city there are shops that sell crackers and irre-
spective of caste creed or religion, there is a rush of people, especially children buying crackers. "This time the price of crackers have skyrocketed. I came with a budget of Rs.500 and my kids were surprised with just a handful of crackers that we could buy," said a Christian family. There is not a single shop selling crackers in our village and never has Diwali celebrated here, remarked Punnose Jacob a resident in the Puthuppally constituency in Kottayam district.
Diwali for exporters as Yuan hits record high

Kolkata: It was a happy Diwali for the Indian export community, thanks to the Chinese Yuan that rose to a record high this week. Exporters said shipment of products like engineering goods, textiles, leather and steel products would be benefited due to the steep appreciation of China's currency against the US dollar. It would also check, they said, China's rising exports to India. For the second consecutive day Nov 13, the spot price of the Yuan hit a record high against US dollar since the country initiated its foreign exchange reforms in 2005. The Yuan hit a record high following China's positive economic data coupled with strong export growth, while India's rupee fell to its lowest in two months to 55.12 against the US dollar Monday after data showed a record trade deficit and contraction in factory outputs. "It (Yuan's record rise) is big news for Indian exporters. Due to this, Indian exports should be more competitive against Chinese exports in overseas markets," Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president M. Rafeeque Ahmed said. The export items from India which would directly benefit are textiles, engineering products, steel and leather goods, India. "It may also in turn check India's widening trade deficit," he averred. Rakesh Shah, former chairman of the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), seconded Ahmed's view that the appreciating Yuan would certainly push exports of India's engineering goods to the international markets. He, however, pointed out that it was the high-end engineering products that would see good demands compared to Chinese products. "We cannot compete with Chinese engineering goods in mass category because these are very cheap due to the economies of scale. So, we have to compete in specialised or high value machinery and electrical equipment. In the high value engineering goods, we will have a comparative advantage than our biggest rival in the overseas markets following its recent high currency appreciation," he explained. According to Shah, India's exports of engineering goods category stood at about $60 billion, of which high-value product accounts for 45 percent. A higher Yuan also prompted Ramu Deora, the former president of FIEO, to say "It is good for India". Deora expects it would help India boost its exports to Asian markets, China and Scandinavian countries.
Traders worshiping electronic gadgets including iPads, laptops and mobile phones on Diwali, in New Delhi.
Ahmed said. "In every export market our products would be more attractive. We will see good results especially in the US," he added. This would certainly be a great delight for India's export community as the country's exports slipped for the sixth straight month in October this year.
Exports for October fell 1.63 percent from a year ago to $23.24 billion, while imports rose 7.37 percent to $44.20 billion, leaving the trade deficit at a record high of $20.96 billion. Ahmed argued that the sharp hike in the price of Chinese currency would lead to a check in volume of exports from China to
DIWALI IN INDIA
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After safe Diwali, thank Delhi's firemen

The property analysts have predicted that till March next year the demand for plots, houses and flats may drop by at least 15 to 20%
There were 120 calls in Delhi during three Diwali hours alone
New Delhi: Drawing little attention to themselves and skipping Diwali festivities, the 1,700-odd firemen of Delhi Fire Service (DFS) worked through the night to put out nearly 250 accidental fires in the city affording Delhiites a safe and secure festival of lights. As the city exploded to the sound of bursting crackers and rockets zooming into the sky, the fire fighters remained alert to ensure that the 12 million-plus Delhiites had a safe Diwali. With exigencies of duty keeping them far from their families and celebrating the festival of lights, the firemen busied themselves attending to calls reporting fires from stray crackers or rockets. The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) control room at Connaught Place remained maddeningly busy during the festivities. "Though we are short of manpower, we are geared to avert any fire turning into a major inferno," a fire fighter manning the control
room said, who spent the night of Tuesday-Wednesday at the DFS headquarters. The control room had 12 firemen, with two of them deputed to attend calls and direct fire tenders to locations from where fire incidents were reported. The calls peaked between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., when most Delhiites were bursting crackers. There were 120 calls during these three hours alone. A total of 250 calls were reported during Monday/Tuesday night up to 7 a.m. Wednesday.Factories, residential buildings, vehicles and garbage heaps were among those that caught fire from crackers this year. As dawn broke out in a smoggy Delhi sky, the fire fighters heaved a sigh of relief. There had been no major fire and no loss of life. As the city slept after a night of noise and merry making, the firemen went home to their waiting families. For them, duty came before Diwali.
Real estate sentiments sluggish on Diwali

New Delhi/Kolkata: Despite aggressive marketing and great offers made by developers on the eve of Diwali festival, the investment in the property have remained lukewarm due to high prices of houses in and around the NCR region. Major factors cited have been high prices of land and the unprecedented rise in the cost of construction materials, iron, cement, labor etc., says the ASSOCHAM survey. There has been a surge in demand of only 20% on the eve of the festival comparing to the normal average sale per month. The builders and the investors say like in the past they had been expecting 100% jump both in new and the huge inventories lying at the disposal of the developers on the festival seasons. The survey was carried out in the major cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabd, Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun etc. The survey was able to gather information from 250 property dealers, noted 40 builders/ developers and 20 divisions of housing financing. Majority of the developers have complaint that the inordinate delays in getting necessary approvals from multiple regulations and authorities result in cost and times overruns. The another factor reported was that in the absence of industry status apathy of banks in financing the real estate projects, adds the ASSOCHAM survey. The resale or secondary market was dull this festival season as there is very little resale going specially in the NCR and surrounding areas which shows that very few investors are there in the market says ASSOCHAM Secretary General D S Rawat while releasing the survey. The property analysts have predicted that till March next year the demand for plots, houses and flats may drop by at least 15 to 20%. The housing inventory in the NCR area is huge as a large number of projects are coming up in the peripheral areas, said Rawat. Rawat also said although the prices had generally remained stable - both for commercial and residential properties, the lack of buoyancy and weak investor sentiments have added to the woes of developers.
The ones who don't celebrate Diwali...

New Delhi: In the last 25 years, Attar Singh has celebrated Diwali only once with his family. The reason? He is a fire fighter here, and the tribe doesn't get a holiday on Diwali. "I have been working with the fire department for a quarter century. In this long period, I have celebrated Diwali just once with my family," said the man posted at Bhikaji Cama Place in south Delhi. Attar Singh is not the only one. Across the city, fire fighters, police personnel, hospital staff and employees providing essential services don't get to enjoy the festival of lights. "We have got used to celebrating Diwali on the road with fellow policemen," said a constable at an intersection near Hauz Khas in south Delhi. "Our kids miss us but what choice do they or we have?" he asked, with a request that he should be named in the story. Another policemen admitted that this did hurt their feelings -- because they ended up missing Diwali -- undoubtedly India's most market in central Delhi said. "But what calms me down is the realization that the mass of people can shop without any worry because I am here to protect them," he added. The maximum that fire fighters get to do is light candles and diyas at the fire stations that dot Delhi. But even this limited celebration ends when SOS calls come through on Diwali nights. Another fire fighter, Sham Saran, admitted they felt bad missing Diwali celebrations with families. "But someone has to do the job," he said, and added that they are on call 24 hours. The story is no different for hospital doctors and nurses. "We get patients with burn injuries in the days leading to the festival. On Diwali we get serious cases," said a doctor at the Safdarjung Hospital in south Delhi. "At that point of time you just can't think of your family because your focus is on saving the patient," he said.
Across the city, fire fighters, police personnel, hospital staff and employees providing essential services don't get to enjoy the festival of lights.
loved and secular festival -- year after year. "At times I do feel jealous when I see
people with their families shopping for Diwali," a head constable at Karol Bagh
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Reviews
JTHJ: Fall in love with love again

lawed but fabulous, the pasha of romance Yash Chopra's swan song may god rest his rhapsodic soul is a swoon-worthy ode to that achy-breaky feeling called love. Reams of poetry and volumes of prose have been writttn on it. But no poet no author has come close to unraveling the mystery of the heart. Yash Chopra spent most of his adult years peering passionately into the heart. "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" (JTHJ) is not his best work. The last 35 minutes when Shah Rukh Khan loses his memory is best forgotten. Miraculously the entire end-piece of this fractured symphony co-written by Aditya Chopra and Devita Bhagat, doesn't take away from the sublime beauty of the work. JTHJ is like an elaborate work of art that offers many different kinds of guilty pleasures for all those diehard fans of Yash Chopra's romance who grew up, grew wise and even grew old watching "Daag", "Silsila", "Chandni" and the doyen's best work, "Lamhe". His latest and sadly his last work could keep you enthralled trying to play the game of spot-the-earlierYash-Chopra-referenced. You will catch "Daag" in the way Katrika Kaif returns into Shah Rukh Khan's fractured life. You can catch many shades of Karisma Kapoor from "Dil To Pagal Hai" in Anushka Sharma's girl-madly-in-unrequited-love act. You will see "Kabhi Kabhie" in the way Katrina comes to search for her fugitive mother (played by Neetu Singh, who had played the girl in search of
'Son Of Sardaar' - comical saga of vendetta

very time Vindoo Dara Singh, who plays a part of an extended patriarchal Punjabi parivaar in the Sikh heartland, opens his mouth to speak, he is shushed down by others saying, "Silencer lagaa." By God, at times you feel this loud, flamboyant, ostentatious yet-all right, admit it-sinfully engaging film should just pipe down. There is so much that's noisy about this film. And we aren't talking about Sandeep Chowta's over-accented background score. Yet it's never unpleasant noise. "Son Of Sardaar" takes us into the core of a family feud in Punjab where Sanjay Dutt, playing a goofy oddball of a Panjabi patriarch as only he can, wants our affable Sardarji Ajay Devgn dead to fulfil an ancestral vendetta. The IQ level of every character in this film is way below average. Every man in Ashwani Dhir's world of belligerent bloodbaths is more daft than the previous. The women are slightly more intelligent, though our leading lady Sonakshi Sinha, photogenic as she is, has begun to get repetitive in her chirpiness. Juhi
Shah Rukh Khan and Katrina Kaif in 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'
Grand opening for JTHJ, SOS

Jab Tak Hai Jaan" (JTHJ) and "Son Of Sardaar" (SOS) opened together on Diwali day and both have managed a grand opening. Trade pundit predicts that the movies' box office collection may cross Rs.200 crore mark. Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif starrer JTHJ was released on 2,500 screens and it has reportedly collected Rs.15.23 crore all over India. The Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha and Sanjay Dutt starrer SOS collected Rs.10.72 crore from 2,000 screens in the country.
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mom in "Kabhi Kabhie") and you can spot "Silsila" in Katrina's scenes with Anushka in London. Both the ladies are madly in love with the same man, much the way Sharmila Tagore and Raakhee loved Rajesh Khanna in Yash Chopra's "Daag". Indeed, there are perceptible shades of Rajesh Khanna's poetic romanticism from "Daag" in Shah Rukh's loner death-defying soldier's character. Shah Rukh imbues the part of solider Samar with a great deal of heart. Never since Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Devdas" has he expressed the pain of lost love so eloquently. That his lady love happens to be Katrina Kaif helps us in sharing his pain. Yup, it's possible to fall hard in love with this tragic beauty of elaborate elegance and spend the rest of one's life pining for her. In some ways this exquisitely mounted work of art belongs to Katrina. She owns Meera's role in the way Sridevi and Raakhee owned "Chandni" and "Kabhi Kabhie", respectively. Shot in pristine colours by cinematographer Anil Mehta whose camera evidently loves Katrina's face as much as Samar, Katrina emerges as an actress who feels her character's pain in anguished close-ups. Yup, Yash Chopra couldn't have chosen better. All the three protagonists seem assembly-built for their characters. And they are never short of support from every department of film's making. "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" makes you fall in love with love all over again. We will miss you, Yashji.
Chawla, as the woman who waits 25 years to marry Sanjay Dutt and then finally tells him, "Sorry, I don't want to build my mandap over the grave of another woman's love", is also intellectually challenged. The smartest character in this smarter-than-the-characters film is played by Tanuja who, as the matriarch, feigns senility whenever it suits her. The men around her make it easy. They are incorrigibly dumb, you see. Love it or hate it, "Son Of Sardaar" is what a mainstream Hindi film is meant to be. A full-on masala-maarke action-comedy with dollops drama dripping from the edges like wet cheese in a tasty pizza. This is a film which is not just smarter than its character but also much more intelligent than it actually seems. "Son Of Sardaar" is a rollicking rumbustious wild and wacky actioncomedy. It's a spaghetti-western relocated to Punjab that would keep Devgn's fans regaled. Even if you are not a big fan of the typical potboiler this one makes you smile.
A scene from 'Son Of Sardaar'
Psy lands American Music Award for 'Gangnam'
Sunny Leone's first Diwali in new house

ndo-Canadian porn star Sunny Leone is excited about her first Diwali in the new house she has set up with her husband in Lokhandwala here. "It is so exciting to be in my new place. My husband and I have been shopping like maniacs all over Mumbai, trying to get our place to feel like home as fast as possible," Sunny said. The adult film actress, who participated in Indian reality show "Bigg Boss 5" and subsequently landed a Bollywood debut with "Jism 2", shifted base from Los Angeles to Mumbai earlier this year. "I am spending my first Diwali in my new home with my husband. We have been invited to celebrate Diwali with Pooja Bedi and friends," she said. Sunny, who will next be seen on the big screen in "Ragini MMS 2", says she has her hands full on this trip. "I am so excited to be coming back to India. On this trip I will be at a few appearances, taking dance lessons and making sure to watch 'Bigg Boss 6' every night and getting ready to release some big news," she added.
South Korean rapper Psy
outh Korean rapper Psy has been given an early 2012 American Music Awards (AMAs). He has been awarded the New Media accolade six days before the red carpet event here. Psy got overnight fame with his catchy tune Gangnam Style. The promo for the hit single has become the most popular video in YouTube history and has received more than 717 million views to date since its release in
July this year. His huge online success has now earned him an early AMA prize. He follows the footsteps of previous honorees Karmin, DeStorm and Christina Grimmie, reports contactmusic. Psy, who shares the same manager as Justin Bieber, will be presented with the award during the pre-show activities and will perform his unique dance moves at the ceremony here itself.
Sunny Leone
ULTIMATE BOLLYWOOD
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Michelle keen to watch Shivan-Narresh make Hollywood debut 'Downton Abbey' I

ndian designer duo Shivan and Narresh, known for their stylized swimwear, have made their Hollywood foray with Ang Lee's "Life Of Pi". The movie, releasing in India Nov 23, features vintage swimsuits by the designers in a specific sequence. "The scene involves 81 Parisian women and men bathing in the Piscine Molitor (a swimming pool complex in Paris). We designed swimsuits for all of the 81 people across different age groups, sizes and body type, who were involved in the making of this important
sequence of the film," Shivan said. Pi or Piscine, the title character of the film itself, is named after the pool. The swimsuits for the scene were made using vintage fabrics, said Narresh. 'Life of Pi' is based on the Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name. The movie features Indian actor Suraj Sharma in the role of young Pi. Actors Tabu and Irrfan also have key roles.
Shivan and Narresh designs for 'Life Of Pi'
A scene from period drama ' Downton Abbey'
Ray's words still inspire me: Tom Alter

ctor and theater personthe 18th Kolkata International Film ality Tom Alter had Festival (KIFF). words of advice from The thespian who has "many many fond" memories of the city, said would legendary director Satyajit Ray love to write a book on Kolkata. while working with Satyajit Ray in "Shatranj Ke Khiladi", which Reminiscing his days in the city still inspire him. while shooting "Shatranj Ke Khiladi", "After shooting he called me. he said: "It was very hot and humid and Richard Attenborough was sweating I was very excited and hoping profusely and feeling uncomfortable. for some advice from one of the greatest directors in the uniTo his rescue came the legendary verse. The only words he said Bengali actor Uttam Kumar who opened was: good job Tom, keep it up," Actor and theater personality his air conditioned make-up room, the Tom Alter said Alter with a loud chuckle. only one in the city that time." "The words coming from the master still inspire me. Talking about "Cheekha", his latest venture which I can never forget them," said Alter, who is in the city he has produced and plays the role of a monk, Alter for his film "Cheekha" (The Crier) being screened at said the film was one of the finest of his career.
S First Lady Michelle Obama loves watching period drama "Downton Abbey" so much that she has reportedly requested ITV chiefs to send over the third series to her ahead of its official US launch date. The new series of the popular show will be launched Jan 6, but President Barack Obama, who is also a fan of the show, and his wife, can't wait until then, reports thesun.co.uk. The series was recently voted the best new TV show of the last 10 years in a poll. A source on
the hit ITV show said: "We know it's very popular in America as it's so quintessentially British. We'd heard the Obamas liked to watch it but we were very surprised when someone from the First Lady's office got in touch asking for the series. "They were very polite and we were more than happy to sort out some DVDs for them to send over. Obviously we hope they keep the spoilers to themselves as our US fans may not know about...well, you know what!"
Like me, Vidya has guts to do different films: Waheeda

lways willing to take chances, Waheeda Rehman experimented with unconventional roles in films such as "Guide" and "Teesri Kasam". She sees a reflection of herself in Vidya Balan, who has also shown great chutzpah in selecting her films. Asked who among the current lot was like her, the screen legend said: "I'll say Vidya Balan." "I also used to choose different movies. I never stuck to 'one good girl in love' (kind of role) and
Vidya does the same thing," Waheeda said. "I had the guts to do 'Guide'. At that time, they told me not to do it because it was a vamp's role. I did 'Mujhe Jeene Do' and 'Teesri Kasam'. I wanted to take a chance and even Vidya is doing that now," she said. The graceful 76-year-old thespian follows the same maxim even today. The reason why she has taken up
Waheeda Rehman
nothing after Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 2009 release "Delhi 6": "The role should excite me. It must contribute to the movie...not just like standing there. That's not exciting. What kind of role is difficult to say. Even if it is an elderly role, it must contribute. I don't want to be there for the sake of being there," Waheeda said. In a 56-year acting career, she gave all-time classics such as "Kagaz Ke Phool", "Guide", Chaudhvin Ka Chand", "Teesri Kasam" and "Mujhe Jeene Do".
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DIASPORA
Public probe sought in death of Indian woman in Ireland

London: An independent public inquiry must be conducted into the death of Savita Halappanavar, who collapsed after doctors in an Ireland hospital refused to abort her fetus on grounds that "this is a Catholic country", demanded a friend of the family. The death of Savita Halappanavar must be the subject of an independent public inquiry, said C.V.R. Prasad, a surgeon who is a close friend of 31-year-old Savita and her husband Praveen. Prasad, an orthopedic surgeon at the Merlin Park Hospital in Galway, said such an inquiry must be taken out of the hands of the Health Service Executive (HSE) Halappanavar arrived Oct 21 with back pain at Galway University Hospital where she was found to be miscarrying at 17 weeks. She died of septicemia Oct 28. Her death has sparked outrage in India. Prasad, who visited Savita in hospital before she died, said: "Any inquiry should be public. That is the way it should be, it should not be conducted by the HSE or the hospital. It should be independent. I hope that might save the life of another women. This should never happen to another woman. Religion and medicine should never mix." Savita's husband Pravin, an engineer at Boston Scientific in Galway, described how she asked several times over a three-day period that the pregnancy be terminated. She was in terrible pain and was miscarrying. He said the request was refused by medical staff who said they could not do anything because there was still a fetal heartbeat. He said they were told that this was the law and that "this is a Catholic country." He was quoted as saying that she spent over three days "in agony" until the fetal heartbeat stopped. The dead fetus was removed but Savita's condition deteriorated and she died. The HSE said that an independent external expert in obstetrics and gynecology would be appointed to strengthen the incident management team it has asked to investigate the circumstances of the death. The team would liaise with Pravin. "The process of incident review seeks to ascertain the facts relating to the incident, draw conclusions and make recommendations in relation to any steps that may need to be taken to prevent a similar incident occurring again.
Savita Halappanavar was denied abortion
or University Hospital Galway, Irish Times reported Thursday.
I'm just a call away for overseas Indians: Vayalar Ravi Ravi inspects multi-faith funeral
Sharjah: Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi Sunday urged the 1.75 million Indians in the UAE to go in large numbers to the upcoming Pravasi Bharatiya Divas at Kochi and said he was just a just call away for expatriate Indians. "I am here to personally invite you to the function I am organizing as a minister -- the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Kochi in January," Vayalar Ravi said late Sunday, addressing the members of the Indian Association at Sharjah. "Since we are holding it in Kerala this time, it will be cheaper for you to attend. You can also go home to your family," Vayalar Ravi said in Malayalam, during a reception in his honor. Malayalis form a large chunk of the 1.75 million Indians in the UAE. For the first time the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas -- India's annual event to connect with its 30 million diaspora in 130 countries -- will be held in Kerala, from Jan 7 to 9. "The whole of Jan 7th has been set aside to discuss issues pertaining to Indians in the Gulf counties. The importance this time is toward the Gulf. That is why Kerala has been chosen. You can decide and set your own agenda," said Ravi, himself from Kerala. Minister Ravi repeatedly stressed he was very approachable and any member of the Indian diaspora could just pick up the phone and call him in case of any problem. "I've given you the liberty to give me a phone call if you have a problem. We'll try and find a way out, keep you informed of action taken. I am a person who picks up the phone. I have a notebook to note down your problems at office and at home," he said.
center for Indians in Sharjah
Indian-origin spy's bust to be unveiled in London

London: A bust of Noor Inayat Khan, the Second World War secret agent of Indian origin, will be unveiled here next week by Britain's Princess Anne. Noor was the first woman radio operator to be infiltrated into occupied France and did crucial work for the allies. She was eventually captured and killed in Dachau Concentration Camp. The bronze bust, sculpted by London-based artist Karen Newman, will be unveiled Nov 8 in Gordon Square, near the house where Noor lived. The event marks the end of several years of campaigning by the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust to revive the memory of the forgotten war heroine, the trust said in a statement Friday. Shankar and Nina Wadia. "We are delighted that the Princess Royal is unveiling the bust. It will be the highest honor for Noor," said Shrabani Basu, author of "Spy Princess, The Life of Noor Inayat Khan" and founder of the trust. "The memorial for Noor will ensure that her story of bravery and sacrifice is not forgotten by future generations," she said. Noor was posthumously awarded the George Cross by Britain and France awarded her the Croix de Guerre. Born in Moscow to an Indian father, Hazrat Inayat Khan and an American mother, Ora Ray Baker, Noor was a descendant of Tipu Sultan, the 18th century ruler of Mysore.
Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi handing over a check of AED 500,000 ($136,000) to the members of the Indian Association at Sharjah as New Delhi's contribution towards an AED 6-million project for a multi-faith funeral center for Indians.
Image of Noor Inayat Khan
The campaign, led by Noor's biographer Shrabani Basu, has received the support of Prime Minister David Cameron, and several MPs and peers, as well as from eminent women like Shami Chakrabarti, Gurinder Chadha, Anoushka
Sharjah: Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi inspected an upcoming multi-faith funeral center for Indians on the outskirts of this city late Sunday and handed over a check for AED 500,000 as New Delhi's contribution to the AED 6-million ($1.65 million) project. The funeral center at Sharjah, which is being executed by the Indian Association Sharjah at a cost of $1.65 million, is nearing completion. The association hopes to formally open it within the next three months. Work continued even as the min-
ister inspected the site with the Indian Ambassador to the UAE M.K. Lokesh, Consul General in Dubai Sanjay Verma and wellknown Indian businessman M.A. Yousuf Ali, who has contributed AED 100,000 and has offered AED 200,000 more. The funeral center, coming up on 8.3 acres of land donated by the Sharjah ruler, will have an incinerator, burial places for Christians and Muslims and a prayer hall. There are an estimated 1.75 million Indians in UAE -- the largest expatriate community here.
SUBCONTINENT
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Pak freeing Afghan Taliban jihadis for peace talks

Islamabad: Pakistan began releasing some Afghan Taliban prisoners who the Kabul government believes could help in reconciliation efforts, an official said on Wednesday, the clearest sign that Islamabad will support the troubled Afghan peace process. Afghan officials, hopeful that direct contact with Taliban commanders could give them leverage in any peace talks, have long urged Pakistan for access to prisoners. The task of energizing the Afghan peace process is gaining urgency as Nato combat troops prepare to withdraw by the end of 2014. Some Afghans fear the country could face civil war or another Taliban takeover if insurgents are not brought into a serious peace process before then.
Hillary urges India to play larger role in Asia

Melbourne: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has lauded India as an important player in the IndoPacific region and has also urged New Delhi to play a larger role in the region's affairs. "We've made it a strategic priority to support India's Look East policy and to encourage Delhi to play a larger role in Asian institutions and affairs. It's exciting to see the developments as the world's largest democracy and a dynamic emerging economy begins to contribute more broadly to the region," Clinton said in her speech at Perth's University of Western Australia. "It's also important to see the burgeoning relationship between Australia and India," she said. Hilary Clinton, who is in Perth for high-level talks with Julia Gillardled government, also applauded the upswing in Australia's bilateral ties with the "world's largest democracy" India. She has encouraged Australia to increase military cooperation with India. Clinton's Perth speech at University of Western Australia has international affairs. Interestingly, while India figured prominently in Hillary Clinton's speech, China, Australia's largest trading partner, was mentioned briefly. "We look for ways to support the peaceful rise of China, to support China becoming a responsible stakeholder in the international community," she said. "And (we) hope to see gradual but consistent opening up of a Chinese society and political system that will more closely give the Chinese people the opportunities that we in the United States and Australia are lucky to take for granted," Clinton added. The US secretary of state's sentiment on India was shared by her Australian counterparts too. "I've been an advocate and an arguer of the point of view that India is on the rise, the strategic importance of the Indian Ocean is on the rise," Australian Defence Minister Stephen Smith said while addressing an University of Western Australia audience.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at Perth's University of Western Australia
been noted by the political pundits as another step towards forming of a tripartite alliance between her country, India and Australia. "We would welcome joint Australian-Indian naval vessel exercises in the future and we are eager to work together in the Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (the organisation of 19 Indian Ocean rim countries) which
Australia will chair in 2013 and which the United States has now joined as a dialogue partner," Hilary Clinton said. "Increasingly, these waters are at the heart of the global economy and a key focus of America's expanding engagement in the region - what we sometimes call our pivot to Asia," Clinton said while referring to the importance of Indian Ocean in the
Diwali peaceful for Pakistani Hindu immigrants

Pali (Haryana): Arjun Das Hirani (42) celebrated his second Diwali in India at Pali village of Faridabad district, Haryana. It was a joyous Diwali, even if rather frugal. "Though there were few earthen lamps and only a handful of sweets and crackers, it was Diwali in India, which is where I belong. Nobody could say anything to me if my tent was illuminated with lamps," says Hirani, a Pakistani Hindu who crossed into India in September last year. Hirani's family was among the 600-odd Pakistani Hindu families which fled Pakistan and crossed the Atari border in September 2011, taking refuge in India. Of the 600 families, around 150 stayed at the capital's Majnu ka Tilla initially, but later moved to different places in the capital and other neighboring states, spreading into Haryana and Rajasthan. "In 2011, it was Diwali again after 40 years, for many of us had stopped celebrating the festival in Pakistan. Last year, many of us were at Majnu ka Tilla and celebrated the festival there; this time, it is a rather solitary affair," Hirani's wife Chandrama said. The family fled Pakistan's Hyderabad, when they found that they could not continue observing their traditions there. "We were pariahs in Pakistan. We could either covert to Islam or face wrath for just being Hindu. They don't see us as Pakistani, but Hindustanis (Indians)," Hirani said. Hirani, who worked as a contractor in Pakistan, has taken to being a seller of vegetables and fruit. "We had a modest house and business there, but Pakistani Muslims used to extort money from us. Everything got destroyed," he said. His 22-year-old uneducated son Mukesh works as a hawker of sweets. "I did not go to school as Papa never sent me to school, as that would force Islam on us. Islamic study was a must there," Mukesh said. According to Hirani, other families that moved from Pakistan also live in villages adjoining Pali. The families had arrived in India on a pilgrimage visa, which has since expired. A provisional extension of the visa has allowed them to continue staying in India.
Court drops contempt charge against Pak PM
Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf
Myanmar to free prisoners ahead of Obama visit

Yangon: Myanmar is set to free hundreds of prisoners, officials said, just days ahead of a landmark visit by US President Barack Obama to a country emerging from decades of military rule. Relatives of the scores of political detainees still languishing in jails were waiting anxiously to learn whether they would be among those released. A prison department official said 452 prisoners would walk free on Thursday morning. "There are some foreigners included in the amnesty," he added, speaking on condition of anonymity, without giving details of their nationalities. The planned release was also announced in state media. Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has already freed hundreds of political prisoners incarcerated by the former junta as part of reforms that have led to a dramatic thaw in relations between the former pariah nation and the West.
Sri Lanka among top five tourist destinations

Colombo: Thanks to the end of the civil war, Sri Lanka has been listed one of the world's top five emerging travel destinations. The World Travel Market's industry report has named the other four countries as Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia and Argentina. According to Sri Lanka's Tourism Development Authority, three key factors have favoured Colombo: the end of the dragging civil war in May 2009, infrastructure investment and beautiful locations. The report, launched in London, highlights travel trends, and is referred to by many professionals in the industry. Sri Lanka's tourism sector has been booming since the government crushed the Tamil Tigers three years ago. The government has targeted one million tourist arrivals for 2012, and revenue of $1 billion from foreign direct investment. By 2016, it hopes to reach 2.5 million arrivals despite industry experts demanding
By 2016, the country hopes to reach 2.5 million arrivals
massive infrastructure upgrades to meet this target. The World Travel Market (WTM) is a British event aimed at the global travel industry. Thousands of travel industry professionals, government ministers and representatives of the international media, converge on ExCeL London each year in November to attend WTM.
Islamabad: The Pakistan Supreme Court withdrew contempt proceedings against Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf over a letter to Swiss authorities seeking reopening of corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, a media report said. A five-member bench headed by Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali resumed hearing of the contempt case against the prime minister for defying the apex court's orders in the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) implementation case. Federal Law Minister Farooq Hamed Naek apprised the court about the letter written to Swiss authorities. He also presented the receipt of the letter to Swiss authorities and told the court that they had received the letter Nov 9. The court then withdrew the contempt proceedings against the premier. On Nov 7, the Pakistan government sent the letter to the Swiss authorities.
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INTERNATIONAL
BBC pays $293,200 over false child abuse claims

London: The BBC will pay a former British politician 185,000 pounds ($293,200) in damages over a news report that led to him being falsely accused of child sex abuse, it said. "The BBC has agreed terms with Lord McAlpine to settle his claim of libel against the Corporation," said a BBC statement. "The settlement is comprehensive and reflects the gravity of the allegations that were wrongly made." The statement confirmed that Alistair McAlpine, who was appointed Conservative Party treasurer under Margaret Thatcher, would receive 185,000 ($293,200) plus costs and that a statement would be read in court to apologize for the allegations. McAlpine responded: "I am delighted to have reached a quick and early settlement with the BBC. I have been conscious that any settlement will be paid by the license fee-payers, and have taken that into account in reaching agreement with the BBC. "We will now be continuing to seek settlements from other organizations that have published defamatory remarks and individuals who have used Twitter to defame me." The broadcaster has already apologized for a report broadcast by its flagship current affairs programme Newsnight about abuse at a children's home in Wrexham in Wales in the 1970s. The report did not name him but he was quickly identified on social networking sites. The false allegations, coming as the BBC was under intense scrutiny over its decision to spike a report about child abuse claims surrounding late presenter Jimmy Savile, plunged the world's largest broadcaster into one of the worst crises in its history.
Xi is China's new leader

Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan, and Zhang Gaoli. Li Keqiang was a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 17th Party Central Committee, and all the others were members of the Political Bureau of the 17th Party Central Committee," Xi said. Li is slated to be the next premier, to succeed Wen Jiabao. Two women, Liu Yandong and Sun Chunlan, are among the Political Bureau members. Xi pledged to "carry out reform and opening up" of the economy. "We will rally and lead the whole party and the people of all ethnic groups in China in making continued efforts to free up our minds, carry out reform and opening up," he said. He promised to "further release and develop the productive forces, work hard to resolve the difficulties the people face in both work and life, and unwaveringly pursue common prosperity".
Indian media assess Xi's challenges

New Delhi: Corruption and sustaining high economic growth were amongst the biggest challenges that faced Xi Jinping who has been chosen China's new leader, a large section of the Indian media said. The Hindu said it was clear that Xi's leadership would have to be "far bolder than the previous generation of leaders, both in thought and in action", while the Hindustan Times noted that Xi took over the wheels of the party at a time when it's beset with multiple problems. An article in the Op-Ed page of the Indian Express said ties between India and China had been complex and at times rocky against the backdrop of the unresolved boundary dispute and the Tibetan issue. Hindustan Times said in its reportage from Beijing that the new Standing Committee is being "perceived as a more conservative one rather than one up for reforms". It pointed out that the country was facing many challenges. The Times of India report from the Chinese capital said that Xi hopes to "emerge as a conciliating force in Chinese life". "With his affable nature, Xi could just be the man to bring about the much needed moderation in public discourse, which is increasingly veering towards shrillness and worse against corruption," it said. It added that over the next 10 years, "the most important test before Xi would be to navigate political and economic reforms through the all-powerful PolitBureau Standing Committee, which now has four members known for their strong conservative views".
Reform is top on Xi Jianpings agenda
Beijing: Pledging to carry on with the reforms process, Xi Jinping anointed the new leader of China in a once in a decade leadership change that also saw a new seven-member committee to govern one of the biggest economies of the world. Xi, 59, was elected the powerful general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and he in turn introduced here the new all-powerful seven-member Standing Committee of the new Political Bureau. The new leader, who will step into President
Hu Jintao's shoes, sought to end corruption and bureaucratism and pledged to carry on with reforms. Xi led the other newly-elected members to meet the press at the cavernous Great Hall of the People, signalling his elevation to the top of China's ruling party. "I was elected general secretary of the Party Central Committee by the plenary session. Now, I wish to introduce to you the other six newly elected members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau," Xinhua quoted him as saying. "They are: Li Keqiang, Zhang
COMMENT
Do we have the right to live?

The death of Savita Halappanavar in Ireland raises a fundamental question of liberty and how we continue to be constrained by the larger societal forces
By Roopsi Narula n the past few days media has been abuzz with the news of death of a 31 year old Indian woman, Savita Halappanavar, who was found to be miscarrying and yet denied an abortion in Ireland. It was widely reported in the media that the woman was in severe pain for 3 days and kept telling the doctors to terminate her pregnancy. However, she was told that Ireland is a Catholic country and as long as the foetus has a heartbeat, it is a living creature and it is against the Irish law to kill it. Denied medical help, the woman finally died of a severe infection, which caused failure of her vital organs. What an unfortunate end to a bright life! This news caused an uproar in US, India, Ireland and other places alike. I also happened to see some hate messages on popular social media sites where people commented that since the woman was a Hindu and not a Catholic, she should not have been subject to Irish laws. This issue, however, is a deeper question of human rights and not just religious sensibilities. Historically, abortion has been an extremely sensitive issue across nations. Different countries have different laws on the subject and the discussion on the topic is often accompanied by a discussion on right to life, right to freedom, and right to reproductive health. Since 1973, abortion is legal in every state in the US. Prior to this, it was illegal in many states and subject to age of the mother in other states. Interestingly, India passed Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act in 1971 and in the true spirit of a modern democracy broke the shackles of the British influenced Indian Penal Code of 1860, which had declared abortion illegal. While the politicians, religious heads, doctors, lawyers, judges and others might continue debating the legal and right way of doing things, sadly the fact remains that in spite of all our progress in the current times, many women are still denied the right to choose and the
Savita Halappanavar
right to their own body! This also raises a fundamental question of liberty and how we continue to be constrained by the larger societal forces. Thinking of this, the image that comes to my mind is that of a woman who is sitting silently in a room while the wise men are involved in a fiery debate of what is the best course of action for her. They are the ones who own her, who are responsible for her and
who are wise enough to know what she should do. This woman has only one silent wish in her heart. She wishes that these people pause for a minute to ask her what is her will and what will make her happy. RIP Savita! (The author is an MBA from Hult International Business School and a business consultant for The South Asian Times. She can be reached at roopsi@indousmedia.com)
BUSINESS
23
'US to be world's largest oil producer by 2020'

Paris: The US would lead global oil producers by around 2020, outpacing Saudi Arabia, thanks to an "extraordinary growth in oil and natural gas output" in the world's largest crude consumer, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said. During the launch of the 2012 World Energy Outlook, the IEA pointed "energy developments in the US are profound and their effect will be felt well beyond North America and the energy sector", Xinhua reported. Rising energy output in the US "driven by upstream technologies that are unlocking light tight oil and shale gas resources will mean a seachange in global energy flows", it predicted. "North America is at the forefront of a sweeping transformation in oil and gas production that will affect all regions of the world, yet the potential also exists for a similarly transformative shift in global energy efficiency," according to Maria van der Hoeven, IEA's executive director. The IEA report expected the US, almost self-sufficient in energy, to become the largest global oil producer overtaking Saudi Arabia by 2020 and to report continued fall in oil imports "to the extent that North America becomes a net oil exporter around 2030."
US working to address India's energy concerns

Washington: Even as India has been given a waiver from the tough Iran sanctions, the United States is working closely with New Delhi to address its very real concerns about energy, according to a US official. The US did "provide India a waiver, which we were authorized to do given that they made progress in cutting off their dependence on Iranian crude," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. "That waiver, I think, still remains in effect. But obviously, we're consulting very closely with the Government of India," he said when asked about the impact of the sanctions under the US National Defense Authorization Act against countries doing business with Iran. This is a process by which we're options for India to fulfil its energy gap left by not buying oil from Iran, the spokesman said he did not have anything specific to cite. "But obviously, we're well aware in our Strategic Dialogue with India of India's very real concerns about energy, and we're obviously working with them to address those concerns," he said.Asked about Iran sanction on China, Toner noted that like India it too had been given a waiver. "The goal of these NDAA actions or sanctions are to increase pressure on Iran, so we're obviously - it's an ongoing conversation we're having with China, with India, with other global partners on how to cut off dependence on Iranian crude, look at other energy sources that can fill their needs, and put pressure on Iran," he said.
The US did provide India a waiver as far as Iranian crude is concerned, says a US official working with our partners around the globe all in the same cause, which is putting increased pressure on Iran to come clean and to address international concerns about its nuclear programme," Toner added. Asked if there were new
Toyota to recall 2.8 million vehicles

Tokyo: Toyota Motor Corp said it will recall 2.77 million vehicles worldwide, including some of its popular Prius hybrid cars, for steering and water pump problems in the carmaker's second multimillionvehicle recall in a little over a month. The defects, which Toyota said had caused no accidents and could each be fixed in an hour or so, could cost hundreds of millions of dollars to repair, according Deutsche Securities autos analyst Kurt Sanger. While the recall is widespread, the flaws are less serious and any damage to Toyota's reputation would likely be limited compared with massive recalls in 2009 to 2011 when unintended acceleration problems in Toyota vehicles were the suspected cause of fatal crashes in the United States. Toyota this year recaptured the
Google ad revenue tops entire US print media

Moscow: Google has earned $20.8 billion in advertising in the first half of 2012, more than all US print media earned in the period, the German research firm Statista said. "In the first six months of 2012, Google raked in $20.8 billion in ad revenue, while the whole of US print media (newspapers and magazines) generated just $19.2 billion from print advertising," the report said. Statista conceded that the comparison is "obviously unfair" given the fact that, unlike the US print media, Google operates globally. Although Google may be gaining revenue at the expense of the
Prius hybrid from Totota
crown of the world's top automaker after last year's natural disasters, which temporarily disrupted production in Japan and Thailand, had knocked it from the top spot in 2011. "The numbers get really crazy
when you look at the impact per dollar. We have a $7 million operating budget, and we are reaching, over the course of a year, about 10 million students in a meaningful way", says the 36 year old MIT and Harvard alumnus.
print media, the search giant saw a 15 percent year-on-year decline in the value of each advertising click in the third quarter. "In general, it appears that most people on the web are starting to avoid advertisements as much as possible, no matter how interesting or personalized they seem to be," the report said.
GM to make 500,000 electric vehicles by 2017

Chicago: General Motors Co. plans to build 500,000 electric vehicles a year by 2017, a company official said. GM plans to meet that goal through a variety of technology including plug-in electrics, pure electrics and hybrids that use the company's eAssist technology, said Mary Barra, GM's senior vice president of global product development. She made the remarks via satellite feed from Detroit to media gathered at GM's Electrification Experience press event in Sausalito, California. The company is on track to sell more than 50,000 vehicles equipped with its electrification technologies in the United States this year, Xinhua quoted Barra as saying. GM is working on the next-generation propulsion technology that powers the Volt and will power the Cadillac ELR to improve the "system's value and efficiency in the not too distant future", Barra said. GM launched the plug-in Chevrolet Volt in late 2010. Sales started off slow but this year have been gaining. The Volt set a record in October, selling nearly 3,000 units. For the year through October, GM has sold more than 19,000 Volts.
Diageo deal could pull Kingfisher from the brink

Mumbai: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya's $2.1 billion deal to sell a stake in United Spirits could throw a lifeline to his grounded Kingfisher Airlines, although pulling the carrier back from the brink will not be easy. The flamboyant "King of Good Times" is keeping his plans to himself for now. However, his decision to give up control of his group's flagship company as Kingfisher heads towards the point of no return suggests that he is unwilling to write off his airline business, bankers and industry analysts say. The proceeds from Mallya's deal with
Muted response to 2G spectrum auction

New Delhi: Auction for the second generation (2G) mobile spectrum started with no takers for the airwaves in the national capital region, Mumbai and Karnataka. The tepid response indicated that the government would fall substantially short of the revenue that it planned to raise from the spectrum sale. At the end of the fifth round of the auction, bids for less than Rs.10,000 crore were received. Bid price for only two circles UP East and UP West exceeded the reserve price of Rs.14,000 crore set for 5 megahertz of airwave space in all 22 circles. Bids for 98 blocks in 18 circles were received at the end of the fifth round of the auction. Airwaves of 176 blocks in 22 circles are up for sale in the auction. There have been no bidders for the national capital region, Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan and Karnataka circles. Also, no telecom operator has applied for a pan-India license. Five telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, Videocon and Telenor-promoted Telewings - are participating in the 2G spectrum auction.
Vijay Mallya's has sold a majority stake in United Spirits to Diageo for $2.1 billion
Diageo Plc will not be enough in themselves to rescue the ailing airline, which has failed so far to find fresh investment to prop it up or a global carrier willing to play white knight. It could still give him enough to make a piecemeal payment to his creditors and draw them back to the negotiating
table for fresh loans and another restructuring of the airline's debt. "The deal has surely changed the mood of Kingfisher lenders and investors from absolute despair to some hope," said a senior investment banker with a European bank in Mumbai, declining to be identified.
24
SPORTS
England Test: Pujara slams double ton

and Ashwin took the Indian first innings to 502/6 at tea. Graeme Swann registered his 14th five-wicket haul when he dismissed Indian captain MS Dhoni. Swann hurled in a slow loopy off-spinner on the middle stump, Dhoni got down on one knee for a sweep across the line but failed to unfurl it well and it came off his gloves and rolled back onto the stumps. This is second five-for on the trot for Swann against India. The dismissal came after Cheteshwar Pujara reached 150 for the second time in his Test career. This is the ninth time that Pujara has gone over 150 in first class cricket. Pujara reached the milestone after Yuvraj Singh hit a full toss from Samit Patel straight into the hands of Graeme Swann at long-on. Displaying excellent temperament on his Test comeback, Yuvraj hit 2 sixes and 6 fours in his 74-run knock. Making England toil hard, Pujara and Yuvraj took the Indian first innings to 410/4 at lunch. Playing his first Test after his comeback, Yuvraj Singh hit his 11th half-century. This is Yuvraj's fourth fifty against England. Pujara reached his second Test century in the fourth over of the day. Pujara reached the milestone by a flicking a Stuart Broad delivery to fine leg and achieved it with the help of 13 fours. The day's play started with Pujara and Yuvraj Singh resuming the Indian first innings. India ended Day 1 at 323/4 with Graeme Swann bagging all the four wickets to fall on the day and the off-spinner also became the most successful England off-spinner with 196 wickets, surpassing Jim Laker (193). India's innings was built largely around Virender Sehwag's 23rd Test hundred (117), Cheteshwar Pujara's watchful, unbeaten 98 and Gautam Gambhir's 45. Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli were unfortunate to get out cheaply for 13 and 19 respectively. Openers Sehwag and Gambhir gave India a sound start after India elected to bat first, putting on 134 their first century stand since Centurion in 2010-2011. This was also the duo's 11th century partnership, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan's 10 as openers. Both started cautiously, picking up singles and twos and pushing and punching the odd one to vacant areas.
An elated Cheteshwar Pujara with MS Dhoni on crease
Ahmedabad: Cheteshwar Pujara reached his maiden Test double century in the second over after tea on the second day of the first Test against England at Sardar Patel Stadium at Motera in Ahmedabad on November 16.
Pujara achieved the landmark when he cut a James Anderson delivery to third man. R Ashwin (23) fell in the third over after tea when he edged a Kevin Pietersen delivery to keeper Matt Prior to take the catch. Pujara
Jean living a dream with Brazil call-up

Rio de Janeiro: Midfielder Jean has described his inclusion in Brazil's national football squad for next week's Superclassic of the Americas against Argentina as one of the most special moments in his life. The 26-year-old was rewarded for his consistent first season with Brazil's 2012 champions Fluminense after crossing from Sao Paulo earlier in the year, reports Xinhua. "I'm realizing a dream that I had since childhood and I will always say this is a special day in my life," Jean told Lancenet. "I am forever grateful to the advice of my father, who always told me about the importance of discipline. His words have shaped who I am today because it showed me the importance of being responsible on and off the pitch." The Nov 21 fixture at the Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires comes after Brazil won September's first leg 2-1 in the Brazilian city of Goiania.
Bopanna to pair up with Ram in 2013

New Delhi: India's Rohan Bopanna has announced his partnership with American Rajeev Ram for the 2013 ATP season. His current partner Mahesh Bhupathi will team up with Canadian Daniel Nestor. Bhupathi-Bopanna ended 2012 with a runners-up finish at the World Tour Finals in London on top of titles earlier in Dubai and Paris. Bopanna is excited about his new pairing with the world no. 44 Ram. "I played with Mahesh in 2012 with a special focus on preparing for the London Olympics and now that it's over, I want to concentrate on the ATP circuit and am eager to build a strong, sustain-
PCB chief sends Thackeray 'get well soon' message

Lahore: Pakistan's cricket board chairman Zaka Ashraf has sent a "get well soon" message to Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, who is in critical condition in Mumbai. "I have sent a message of get well soon to Mr Bal Thackeray," Ashraf said. "Our religion and our Prophet Mohammad taught us that we should wish everyone good health and life and following that I have wished him well and sent him a bouquet," Ashraf was quoted as having said by Pakistani media. Thackeray has demanded that the Indian government cancel next month's tour by the Pakistani cricket team. The 86-year-old said that sporting ties should not revived until Pakistan brings the perpetrators of 2008 Mumbai terror attacks to justice. However, the Indian government earlier this month gave the go-ahead for a tour of two Twenty20 and three one-day internationals to commence in December-January -- the first between the arch-rivals in five years.
Rohan Bopanna
able partnership. "Rajeev is a great player, and given our individual strengths, and his command of the deuce court, I believe that we can complement each other very well on the court," said Bopanna. Twenty-eight-year-old
Ram, with his booming serve and solid groundstrokes, has maintained a fine balance between the singles and doubles circuits, choosing to spend the last few years limiting his single appearances and concentrating on his doubles game.
I may have to look beyond F1: Karthikeyan

New Delhi: It doesn't take long for fortunes to change in Formula One. Just a couple of weeks back after successfully completing his second Indian Grand Prix, HRT driver Narain Karthikeyan was feeling secure about his future in this ultra-competitive sport. All that has changed in the matter of 48 hours with the Spanish F1 team now put up for sale by their owners Thesan Capital. The investment firm had only taken up a majority share in the team from the Carabante family but have failed to transform the fortunes of the team. If paddock rumors are to be believed, the HRT is getting ready to bench 32 engineers from their staff. It is also heard that talks are on with some Indian and Abu Dhabi-based investors. That however casts a doubt over Karthikeyan's future in Formula One next season. "The plan for me was to stay with HRT for 2013 as it was looking good all along as a team we have been making progress and the design for the 2013 car is reasonably competitive. I was quite sure of everything being in place and thus there was no Plan B," Karthikeyan was quoted as saying. "But everything has turned on its head in the last 24-48 hours and as you can imagine. The solution won't arrive overnight. I may be forced to look beyond F1 now so looks like it is going to be a very busy off-season," he added. Thesan Capital need a influx of about 40 million euros to keep the team afloat. HRT have been suffering from some reliability issues. According to the Spanish media,
HRT driver Narain Karthikeyan
the situation is so dire in the team that the HRT engineers are concerned that HRT drivers
Karthikeyan and Pedro De La Rosa are at the wheels of unsafe cars.
OP-ED
25
Behind the Obama win: An insider view

By Latha M. Srinivasan t was the sheer hard work of his campaign volunteers and extensive ground game that won Barack Obama his second term as US president. It was the Obama campaign's decision to put huge amounts of resources into the ground game that led to his triumph over Mitt Romney. We learnt this truth on Election Day -- and when our Ohio state proved the decisive factor in what was a hard fought election. It was in 2008 that I chose to support Obama in the Ohio Primary. I have supported him ever since. I live in Ohio, a "swing state" on the presidential electoral map. It is the state that usually decides the outcome of presidential elections. In Ohio, I live in Cleveland, which is in Cuyahoga County. Cuyahoga is the most liberal-leaning and thus decisive county in Ohio. It was the Cuyahoga votes that put Obama over the magic number of 270. It was one of the most exhilarating moments I have ever experienced. It was after the presidential outcomes of 2000 and 2004 that I realized how important it was to become involved in grassroots volunteering. I did a bit of it in 2006 when a friend ran for a state office.
It was the Cuyahoga votes that put Obama over the magic number of 270. It was one of the most exhilarating moments I have ever experienced
My first real experience came in the 2008 Democratic primaries. I was an "election observer" - a volunteer acting on behalf of the Democratic Party's Voter Protection program. Most observers are attorneys, and I am one, but that is not a requirement. We are assigned to one or more polling locations to ensure all procedures are correctly followed. Democratic observers seek to make sure that every voter who can vote does vote. Generally, the more the voting, the better for Democrats. I knew it was essential to get people to vote so that Obama would be
re-elected. A Romney presidency would cater to the socially conservative (and backward, in my opinion) Tea Party movement and take us back to the failed policies of George W. Bush. Losing was not an option. I had all kinds of experiences. I came across voters who called Obama a "Communist" and hung up on me, voters who backed Romney but engaged me in meaningful conversations, the undecided (whom I tried to convince to vote for Obama) and voters who were as excited about Obama as I was. At the end of October, the volunteers started calling and canvassing
identified Obama supporters. We told them that Ohio had early voting -- which favors Democrats. We encouraged them to vote early. I joined with other Obama canvassers and walked around my neighborhood. Thousands of volunteers from the swing states helped. In Cuyahoga County, we had many out of state volunteers who recognized the importance of Ohio. I even met an Obama supporter from Britain! On Election Day, I woke up at 4 a.m. to get to my post on time. Observers are permitted in the polling area 30 minutes before start of ballot. I reached with doughnuts and a cup of coffee. At 6.07, I noticed that voters were lining up to vote. A great sign for Democrats. When polling opened at 6.30 a.m., the queue was long. I was exhausted but decided to go to watch the election results at a bowling alley in Lakewood, a relatively Left-leaning town in the heart of Cuyahoga. Slowly, the results came in. Each time a swing state was called for Obama, the crowd went nuts, cheering, clapping, screaming and howling. Wisconsin - Obama! Iowa Obama! Nevada - Obama! (In the meantime, Sherrod Brown, the senator from Ohio, was announced to
have kept his seat, and the crowd went wild). Finally, Obama's electoral votes got to 258. A realization swept through the crowd. If Ohio goes to Obama, he would meet the threshold 270 electoral votes and win re-election. Hearts started beating faster, hands were over mouths in anticipation. People were both anxious and excited. I knew I would be heartbroken if Obama lost Ohio. Would Ohio deliver Obama the election? Then, out of the blue, and much earlier than anyone expected, the network we were watching had Obama at 272 electoral votes. It was Ohio! Cuyahoga County! That's us, right here! I was unable to move. Was this really true? Then pandemonium ensued. I stood up and cheered with other Obama supporters! I was not able to speak - only scream - while jumping up and down. People were hugging each other, crying. We did it! I hugged people I did not even know. Ohio had done it! It was done. Barack Obama had earned a second term. (Latha M. Srinivasan, a lawyer of Indian origin based in Cleveland, Ohio, was part of the Obama campaign)
Malala: No turning point for Pakistan

By Subhash Chopra s the outpouring of sympathy for the 15-year-old schoolgirl Malala Yusufzai after the murderous attack on her in the Swat district of Pakistan gets muted in Pakistan despite a global Malala Day in the rest of the world, Taliban militants are setting their gunsights on new targets. Three shots were fired at the car of a journalist couple, Sirmed Manzoor of the South Asia Free Media Association and his wife Marvi Sirmed, as they left their house for some engagement in federal capital Islamabad. Luckily they escaped unscathed. But an anti-Taliban peace committee chief, Abdur Rehman, from the Frontier city of Peshawar was not so lucky. Rehman, a former suburban Nazim or civic administrator, was killed in a targeted attack in Fazalabad town in the neighboring Lower Dir district. Less than a week later A Superintendent of Police was shot dead in Peshawar. The militants also blew up a government school in Mohamand tribal region. All these attacks, perhaps un-coordinated, happened barely three weeks after the attack on Malala. And more could happen by the time this appears in print. Leaders of major political parties of Pakistan at first joined in the chorus of condemning the October attack on the
Malala Yusufzai
Swat schoolgirl. But none of them seems to be coming forward to call for an all-out strike against Taliban stronghold of North Waziristan from where the Taliban fan out to strike at civil and military targets whenever and wherever they like. Army chief General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani, the de facto head of the Pakistani establishment, has maintained a discreet silence after paying an early visit to Malala at her hospital
bed before she was flown to Britain for further treatment. Shocking but not surprising , political leaders of all hues, excepting Londonbased Altaf Husain of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, are looking at each other , not for action but for a consensus before calling for action. Husain had even asked the MQM to hold a countrywide referendum on whether nation wanted
Jinnahs secular Pakistan or a Talibanized Pakistan. Perhaps realizing it was too big a task for his party, Husain has called for a postponement till sometime in the future. President Asif Ali Zardari, who made an impassioned speech against the militants while addressing South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) journalists in Islamabad, underlined the need for a consensus before launching any precipitate action against Taliban in their Waziristan stronghold. Consensus, whose other name is nonaction, seems to be inspired as much by the fear of a Taliban blow-back as by the backlash of Talibanized voters in the general election which is round the corner sometime early in the new year. AntiAmerican sentiment, especially since the advent of drone attacks one of which killed Osama bin Laden in May 2011, is being exploited to the hilt by the fundamentalist elements in the society of which more than half is said to be Talibanized in the name of sharia and Islam. With all eyes focused on the forthcoming elections, most parties are fearful of losing that voter support while the Army waits quietly on the sidelines. The question Pakistani civil society and the world at large is asking today: Has Pakistan missed the Malala moment and how much more will it take to reach the tipping point?
The views expressed in Op Eds are not necessarily those of The South Asian Times.
26
HEALTH
India slips 23 places in pictorial campaign against tobacco

ndia has been ranked 123 among 193 countries in an international biennial report on pictorial health warning campaign against use of tobacco products slipping 23 places behind its 100th rank in 2010. The 'Cigarette Package Health Warnings: International Status Report' was released at the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) conference in Seoul, South Korea, said an official statement issued by Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI). "India was at the forefront in demanding effective and visible picture-based health warnings on tobacco packs at the negotiations of FCTC in 2003. It is regretful that India occupies the 123rd position among countries which have introduced health warnings," said Bhavna Mukhopadhyay, executive director, VHAI. In 2004, India signed and ratified FCTC that required it to carry health warnings on tobacco products' packets describing the harmful effects of tobacco use on health -- a proven strategy to deter people from smoking or chewing tobacco. The warning "should be 50 percent or more
Children's Day means little to the malnourished in India

ive-year-old Payal has patchy brown hair and her hands and legs as slender as twigs. She is also pot-bellied -- the typical symptom of malnutrition. For her, it makes no difference that Nov 14 is Children's Day. Although she is five, she looks like a twoyear-old, and clings to her mother. There are days when Payal, who lives on Delhi's bustling streets with three siblings, goes without food. "We all live here. This is our home," said the girl, pointing towards the pavement where she stays with her brother, sisters and parents. "Whatever we get (by way of alms or whatever her parents are able to sell), we use it to buy food. We distribute what we get. But some days, there is nothing," says Payal, as she dashes towards a car at the traffic junction to beg. On Children's Day, millions of children like her have little to celebrate. Their life is marked by struggle, and they cannot be assured of three meals a day. Many of them suffer from malnutrition, and education is not even a concern. Construction worker Roopa would like a better life for her children. "Milk, vegetables and grains: the prices of all these are soaring. I take my 12-year-old son with me for work and the other two are at home. We need to survive," she said, sitting in her one-room shack in Kali Basti.
of the principal display areas, but shall be no less than 30 percent of the display areas", according to FCTC. Although India introduced pictorial warnings on packets of tobacco products in 2008, the new report shows the country lags far behind many countries in giving optimum space to health warnings on tobacco products' packs. "India's tobacco pack warning covers only 40 percent of the front panel, while there is none on the rear side. This pushed India to the 123rd rank, compared to Pakistan's 65th and Bangladesh's 97th rank in the report," the VHAI statement added. Australia, which has been ranked first in the report, gives 82.5 percent space to pictorial warning on tobacco product packs, while Uruguay and Sri Lanka which jointly hold the second rank dedicate 80 percent space to health warnings on the packs. A survey by the Global Adult Tobacco Survey says India has nearly 274.9 million tobacco users, the third-largest in the world. Tobacco kills nearly one million people every year due to related diseases such as cancer, heart and lung illness.
"I would like my children to have their meals three times a day, but there are days when that is not possible," she said. According to UNICEF, prevalence of stunting in India is higher than in sub-Saharan Africa. While 48 percent of Indian children under five years of age are stunted, the figure for sub-Saharan Africa is 42 percent. "Children should be considered highest national priority. Malnutrition is a complex issue as it is not a question of food intake only. Health and sanitation also play vital roles," said social activist Harsh Mander, who has been appointed commissioner by the Supreme Court in a case on public distribution system. "We have asked the government to address certain issues, including that a child, whether or not in school, should get midday meal. Migrant children should get the benefits of the Integrated Child Development Scheme and midday meals," Mander said.
Mehndi may cause serious side effects, say doctors

pplying chemicallaced 'mehndi' (henna) on the hands can cause serious side effects including skin infection, doctors said, cautioning girls and women against using it. Mehndi dermatitis cases are on the rise in the city, said Rohit Batra, dermatologist at Sir Gangaram Hospital here. "We are getting 8 to 10 patients every day with serious side effects after applying mehndi on their hands," he added. "With the arrival of the festive and wedding season, the number of patients has increased. In the non-festive season, just one or two people come to us in a month with skin infection from mehndi. But after 'karwa chauth', it is on the rise," Batra said.
He advised girls and women not to use chemicallaced mehndi as it causes irritation and leaves scratch marks, which can have a life-long impact on the skin. He added that mehndi agents do not use plain henna but add harsh chemicals to make it darker. Skin infections due to mehndi cause swelling, itching and redness. Batra said that as soon as people notice such symptoms, they should visit a doctor to avoid any serious consequences. "At the initial stages, mehndi can cause acute dermatitis if one does not see doctor immediately and the allergy can spread all over the body," Batra added. Sachin Dhawan, dermatologist at the Skin and Smile Clinic in Gurgaon, said that mehndi can even cause cancer.
Young but complaining of body ache? It's Vitamin D deficiency

oes your teenage daughter often complain of backache and joint pain? Is your college-going cousin always lethargic? Vitamin D deficiency among youngsters, which causes such problems, is becoming common these days and is a growing health concern, doctors say. Vikas Ahluwalia, senior consultant of Internal Medicine at Max Super Speciality Hospital, said that vitamin D deficiency among young people has increased over the last couple of years, especially in metros like Delhi. "We have observed a rising number of cases of young people coming with complaints like backache, leg pain, joint pain and lethargy, which relate to vitamin D and vitamin D3 deficiency. It's a cause of concern," Ahluwalia said. The trend is mostly seen in metros, like Delhi, he added. "What is even more worrying is that children as young as 16, who are in the growing stage of their life, are coming with such problems," Ahluwalia said. Paediatrician Anju Virmani of the Indraprastha Apollo hospital agreed. "Vitamin D deficiency is becoming very common these days, and it's affecting different sets of population. Among kids too it is becoming common," Virmani said. "Scientific studies show that vitamin D deficiency is increasing in each decade. So the deficiency in the population between 2000 and 2010 was more than the
Cancer survivor paints for patients

ive every day as if there's no tomorrow, says cancer survivor Hiranmay Sarkar, an IIT engineer who paints for cancer patients. "Make every day count. There might not be a tomorrow," says Sarkar who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2005. Sarkar, now 45, went through a year-and-a-half of treatment in Los Angeles, which provided him with the golden opportunity to hone his skills as a painter. "During my treatment in Los Angeles, I had plenty of time and, most importantly, I had to fight against my own will. I started taking lessons in watercolor from an accomplished artist there," said Sarkar who also dabbled in animation during
his cancer therapy. A mechanical engineering graduate from Jadavpur University, Kolkata, Sarkar earned his masters degree from IIT Kharagpur. He had been painting and sketching since his youth. "I used to do sketches and watercolors. I started painting with acrylic colors five years ago," said Sarkar, whose frequent official tours abroad brought him in touch with works of masters at caves of Lascaux, Louvre museum, Musee d'Orsay and Picasso. However, during his treatment Sarkar wielded the paint brush as a way to de-stress and soon realized that he could translate his passion for a cause.
previous decade. And the urban population is more affected than its rural counterpart," she added. The root cause of the problem is lifestyle-related, doctors say. "It starts right at the beginning - when a woman is pregnant. If she is low on vitamin D, so will the child be. If there is not enough breastfeeding, the child will have this and all sorts of other problems when he or she grows older," Virmani said. Young office goers, in their twenties and early thirties, who mostly have desk jobs and work in air-conditioned offices, also come with similar complaints. "I remember one patient who came to us with a fracture. She was married for just six months and we were concerned if it had to do with domestic abuse. But after two days, her other leg too had a fracture, removing our doubts, because it meant that her bones were very brittle because of vitamin D deficiency," she added. Exposure to sunlight is the biggest source of vitamin D - something that we consciously avoid under various pretexts.
LIFESTYLE
27
'Indians have good taste, but not enough patience'

ndians have good taste and great culture, but they are not patient enough to wait for the delivery of a unique product, says French chandelier designer Regis Mathieu who plans to introduce his luxury lighting brand Mathieu Lustrerie in this country. Talking about the market of chandeliers in the country, Mathieu said: "People (in India) have good taste and great culture. But they are not patient enough to wait for the delivery of a unique product. They want everything very quickly." "What is funny is that the art deco style in India is closer to the French taste, whereas the lifestyle is similar to the British. People are learning very quickly due to the reach of media in India. I think now especially chandeliers take an important part in the house and people have begun to value it,"
French Chandelier Designer Regis Matheiu
he added. If he appreciates growing tastes of Indians for luxury items, he is equally fascinated by the country's art and culture. "India is a potpourri of art, heritage and culture. There is much to learn and so much to give back," Mathieu, who has been the face of his family business for over 20 years now, said. "India has always been a source of inspiration for me. India's beauty and rich culture have forever captured my heart and soul. In fact, I have a house in Chhattarpur (in south Delhi), which I use when in need of a fresh outlook." When it comes to luxury brands, he feels that there has been a growth on a "phenomenal rate" in the country, "making it the perfect time to set up shop." He feels that since luxury products cater
to a niche market, winning customer loyalty is most important. "It is more about providing what is sought - and providing it with unmatched quality. The idea is to maintain loyalty, not numbers," he added. The French lighting brand is a household name in Europe and a favorite at fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Cartier, Hermes and Christian Dior. Mathieu Lustrerie's masterpiece chandeliers can also be admired at the Philadelphia Academy of Music, the Opera Garnier in Paris and Monaco and the iconic Hall of Mirrors at the grand Chteau de Versailles. The brand, established by Regis' father Henri in Gargas in 1948, not only creates high-end lamps, sconces, chandeliers and other lighting products but also restores and replicates antique chandeliers.
Wearing art: New metaphors for Indian fashion

emple art was the trademark of traditional Indian clothes and accessories for centuries, setting them apart from western apparel with a distinct color, motif and design scheme. But the arrival of contemporary art has given Indian designers new metaphors for interpretations. Art and fashion in India have spilled into each other in strange yet harmonious ways. Indian modern art has been unfurling its creativity on the traditional six-yard drape since the beginning of the 20th century in Bengal. At the Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan, artists paint landscapes and people of the Bengal countryside directly on to cotton drapes and traditional men's shirt (kurta) with natural, fabric and acrylic colors. Two decades ago a group of artists including Manjit Bawa, M.F. Husain and J. Swaminathan scripted new fusion when they painted contemporary prints on apparel in a one-off exposition in Mumbai. Several sporadic attempts followed till a group of five artists put their heads together for a year to create the "Ehsaas Project", an art-to-fashion transpose that has produced a collection of 20 saris, 12 bags, 25 ties and 25 stoles with digital fine art prints. A hand-painted range of accessories complements the clothes. To be launched at the end of this month, the collection is a selection of abstract and figurative paintings by artists Alka Raghuvanshi, Niren Sen Gupta, Sanjoy Bhattacharya, Sridhar Iyer and Manisha Gawade that have been digitally printed on tussar silk from Bhagapur in Bihar and crepe textiles by a South Delhi ethnic and traditional clothier, Ekaya. The range, curated by Alka Raghuvanshi, will be displayed in a ramp walk by cultural personalities like dancers Swapna Sundari, Shobhana Narayan, Sharon Lowen, Prathibha Prahlad
Swapna Sundari in an art sari from Ehsaas Project curated by artist Alka Raghuvanshi
and television presenter Suneet Tandon to display the wearability and classic nature of the collection, the curator said. "This is my second attempt to translate art into wearable fashion," Raghuvanshi said. Raghuvanshi had earlier tried to transpose one of her solo shows into a collection with the help of designer Nidhi Jain. The color code is striking. The saris are in vibrant shades of yellow, red, green and white with dark abstract and figurative silhouettes. A canvas of nudes painted with Salvador Dali's expressionistic motifs by artist Sanjoy Bhattacharya on a black silk sari draws the viewer with its stunning detail of human anatomy. "Fashion has always been part of art. But look at the couture we have now - that's hardly the kind of thing people can connect to. What we know as fashion is not very arty, but very crafty. People like you and I can hardly wear the clothes designers make for models on the ramp...We should have a multi-disciplinary approach to art. It can be perceived in isolation," Raghuvanshi said.
hopping for gold? Here's a ready reckoner for buying the precious metal on Dhanteras, which falls on Sunday. "With festivals round the corner, we all look forward to shopping for gold, be it jewelry or gold coins and bars, but it is highly important to get what we are paying for. Many times we don't realize we have been cheated till we go for re-assessment or re-sale," said Vinita Bakshi, Aambra Foundation that aims to bridge the divide between consumer rights and business ethics.Every piece of gold should have a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) hallmark. "The value of your jewelry is determined by the certification it carries. The Indian government has identified BIS as the sole agency for certifying gold," Calvin John, vice president (marketing) caratlane.com, said. "Ensure that the gold jewelry you are purchasing has the BIS hallmark on it. The purity of coins and jewelry that is not BIS hallmarked may be questionable," he added. Gold is divided into parts to determine the level of its purity, which one needs to be aware of. Jewelry made of 24-carat (k) gold is pure or 100 per-
Useful tips to remember when buying gold S
cent gold. Pure gold is malleable and can be molded with the bare hands. The Second category is 22k gold that contains 22 parts gold and 2 parts of additional metals, making it 91.6 percent gold. It's popularly referred to as 916 gold. Then there is 18k gold. It has 18 parts gold and 6 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 75 percent gold. The prices are decided according to the purity of the metal. Nowadays, most ornaments are made with 18k gold as it is relatively more durable against daily wear and tear, especially if it is studded with diamonds or gemstones. Kapil Narang, chief operating officer, Ameriprise India Pvt. Ltd, says if one is not buying hallmarked gold, one should rely on a trusted jeweler. "Banks sell hallmarked 24.99 carat gold. If you are not buying hallmark gold, rely on a trusted jeweler or one who has long been in the market. One must also take into account associated costs like locker rentals, erosion and making charges. Lastly, keep in mind the ease of reselling," Narang said.
House of Marley audio products now in India A

udio products from the House of Marley are making their foray in India. The range embodies legendary musician Bob Marley's vision of equality, unity, sustainability and charity, says his son Rohan. Carrying forward his father's vision and principles on behalf of the Marley family, Rohan is a former football player and entrepreneur. The House of Marley collection ranges from in-ear and on-ear headphones to portable speaker docks, and will be retailed in India through Focal Audio Systems Pvt Ltd. "All of these products are made of sustainable materials, without compromising on the superior quality of sound and design. The collection is sure to conquer the heart of real music lovers in India and create trendy, fashionable statements," Rohan told IANS. The audio products are priced between Rs.1,999 to Rs.25,999. House of Marley headphones are currently available at select retailers in over 30 countries across Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, North America and the Middle East.
In India, the brand is available in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bangalore, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The plan is to expand the reach. In the next 18 months, House of Marley expects to have retail distribution in about 30 more countries, said Rohan. Rohan, who is among Bob Marley's 11 children, also says that "a portion of the proceeds will be given back through 1Love.org to approved charities." The Marley family created 1Love.org in the year 2010. It funds and markets other charities.
28
HUMOR
Funny Bone by Nury Vittachi
Planet Earth goes up for sale on website

A
man put planet Earth up for sale on a Japanese internet auction site last week. The seller listed the Earth as "used" and warned that there was a "noreturn" policy. Buy it and you're stuck with it. On the information page, he explained that god had appeared to him in a dream and told him to sell the place. People being people, many took it seriously, reports Rocketnews24, a Japanese news website. A questioner from Saitama asked: "I love cigars. Is it possible to sell off just Cuba as a special package item?" Answer: "Thank you for your question! After placing the winning bid, I think Havana can be moved to Saitama, Japan." Q: "Hello. This is a really interesting item! If I buy the Earth will I become a god?" Answer: "Thank you for your question! This item can't make you a god." One questioner, apparently from a different galaxy, asked whether the Earth could be delivered to his home planet. Q: "Is it possible to ship this via Altair? Thank you for your time." A: "Thank you for your question! Because it would take 17 light years just for the bank transaction to complete, I think you should forget shipping." At the time of writing, the price for planet Earth has soared from 69 cents to US2,700. In real estate terms, it may sound cheap, but think of the maintenance, etc. Do you really want all that responsibility? *-* Love this quote from US funnyman Jimmy Kimmel last week about the cancelled New York marathon: "I don't even know why they bother running the marathon. We know what's going to happen. Why not just find a random Kenyan, put a medal around his neck, and save everyone the trouble?" *-* The brain is a very strange thing. A hungry reader told me he carefully separated his burger from the wrapping paper, and then threw the burger into litter bin. It was not his best day. Another reader, Janakan Arulkumarasan, told me he was at Cambridge University when he hurried to the postbox with an important letter - which he "posted" into the litter bin next to the mailbox. "Filled with horror, I stuck my arm in the bin, covering my sleeves with abandoned spaghetti and suchlike, desperately fishing for the letter," he said. "Moral of the story: going to Cambridge doesn't make you smart." I asked regular contributors for similar tales, and the saddest true story concerned an old man who lived in the UK. Being too old to learn how to use email, Alf Spence, 91, posted letters and parcels for two years in what he thought was a postbox. In fact, it was a receptacle for dog poop. Alf only discovered the error when a passerby saw him putting an envelope in the dog poop collection box and stopped him. The elderly man from North Yorkshire complained that it was the same colour as the mailbox. He wrote to the Royal Mail to tell them that they could stop the hundreds of "missing mail" searches he had instigated over the past two years. I just hope someone else posted THAT letter for him. *-* A judge last week told disgraced French investment banker Jerome Kerviel that he has to pay back the US$6 BILLION that he lost. Whoah, someone's going to have to cut back on the designer coffees. That could take MONTHS, seriously. *-* You may recall this columnist mentioning a correspondent who is keen on having more than one wife, and is thus checking out his options to settle in Asia - Malaysia being his current first choice. I was wondering how to discourage him (for his own sake) when I received just what I needed in the shape of a news report forwarded by Hong Kong reader Esther Cheong. A man who upset his wife was remotely made impotent, a court in Zimbabwe heard last week. Tichaona Musavengana, 43, told the judge that he had done absolutely nothing to upset his wife, other than bringing home an extra wife as a general upgrade to his marital situation. His wife, whose name was Beauty Mapfumo, pledged revenge. Shortly afterwards, her husband found he had acquired an extreme case of erectile dysfunction, which basically means he ended up with the libido (no, that's not a board game, look it up) of overcooked spaghetti. The "cursed" man told the judge he has been to numerous doctors in Harare, both modern and traditional, but nothing has worked. "I'm now pleading with my wife to undo her 'fix'," he said, according to Bulowaya24, a news source. "I can pay her two cows." *-* A man aged 96 has just had a child. It's not fair: if older women have babies, people tell them off for being irresponsible, but men just get a pat on the back and a "woohoo". "I didn't take any performance enhancers," Ramajit Raghav, an ancient bag of bones, boasted to the Times of India. The old fella says he is going to have his wife Shakuntala Devi (a mere child of 52) sterilized so that she won't get pregnant again. Wise move: otherwise they'd have three kids to put through college, and a guy's earning power drops off after his first 120 years. *-* Two hundred yetis live in the unexplored regions of the world, Russian professor Valentin Sapunov said last week, but are rarely seen because the lumbering, hair-covered monsters are highly unsociable. Has he got "yetis" mixed up with "teenagers", I wonder? *-* A live shark fell out of the sky on to a golf course in southern California on Oct 22. A fish expert said it had wounds around its fin, suggesting that it had been snatched from the sea, lifted into the sky, then accidentally dropped. Officials are looking for a very strong falcon or a disappointed-looking Chinese tycoon. *-* Seventy earthworms were married in an elaborate wedding in Taiwan sponsored by greenies last month. Romance among earthworms is easy, since all earthworms are both male and female, just like 1970s pop singers.
Photo of the week
Jihad al-Masharawi, a Palestinian employee of BBC Arabic in Gaza, weeps as he holds the body of his 11-month-old son Omar, who according to hospital officials was killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza City on Nov. 14, 2012.
ASTROLOGY
29
By Dr Prem Kumar Sharma

Stars Foretell: November 17-23, 2012
Aries: This week you will be benefited provided you take some bold decisions. New romance for some cannot be ruled out. You will find it extremely difficult to concentrate on your work, as your mind will be busy fantasizing about this special person who has just entered your life. You will learn valuable information if you keep your mind open to new cultures and religions. Money position will also improve as pending payments get cleared. During this period you should go out and build new relationship and contacts, but avoid strangers who behave extra friendly. Taurus: Despite some tensions that you might have experienced in the last few days, this week starts on a bright note. Excitement and gaiety marks your days ahead. Plenty of gains stored for you in whatever you do. New ventures and assignments will lift your spirits and confidence. Your interest in outdoor activities will see you go out on short trips, outings and other entertainment activities. Spouse will keep you happy and you should try to plan something special with children towards the weekend. Gemini: This week tempers will mount if youre too pushy at work or at home. There will be vast improvement in your business as well as professional skills. Opportunities to travel will bring desired results. Certain legal matters will need immediate attention, therefore seek advice of a lawyer if necessary. Financial gains are certain throughout the week, but your tendency to overspend will make it difficult for you to save. Friends and near ones will be helpful to complete pending jobs. Cancer: This week you should set new goals for yourself and work towards them. Your confidence and ability to work on projects, which require high responsibility, will bring you benefits in the long run. This period is also good for building ties with influential people who will be helpful in implementing your projects. A short trip for pleasure later in week cannot be ruled out. Get involved in outdoor sports or activities that are challenging and will help you stay in perfect shape. Leo: Distant trips will bring beneficial results, however hectic schedule will trouble your health. Financial gains are expected from new contacts. Uncertainty with regard to career opportunities for your children, seem to bother your mind, seek advice from an academic counselor if necessary. Empty promises are also evident from people you trust and respect the most. Dont expect anything from others and you wont be disappointed. Do not spend lavishly on friends and rather spend more time and money on family members. Virgo: This week if you work quietly behind the scene, you will achieve what you plan. New jobs will dominate your days ahead. For those at service new opportunities or some sort of monetary benefits cannot be ruled out. Domestic happiness and romance will flourish. Despite such a prosperous time and financial gains, some tensions due to careless actions of your domestic servants, co-workers or working partners cannot be ruled out. Libra: Take legal advice before you take action regarding important issues. You are likely to be appreciated by your partners and coworkers. Religious feelings will arise, forcing some of you to seek blessing from a spiritual person. Journeys and travelling that you undertake during this period will be highly rewarding and educating. Though gains from investment are foreseen, but few losses due to hasty speculation cannot be ruled out. Scorpio: You will be emotional about changes that are going on around you. Your confidence and determination will be at all time high and you will win plenty of favours from members of the opposite sex. However deception from a close associate or losses due to hasty investment cannot be ruled out. Encourage children to spend their extra time into creative activities and sports. Your harsh attitude and derogatory comments could create uneasy moments at home. Sagittarius: This week put in some extra hours and finish pending jobs before you venture out for some fun and entertainment. Work pressure might leave you irritated and exhausted, but you should remember that harsh words and erratic behaviour will only bring disregard and criticism. Financial gains seem likely as you recover delayed and pending payments. Children will need careful handling and proper attention. Adopt meditation for mental peace. Capricorn: Dont allow your partners to take advantage of your generous nature. Though work progress will be slow and not very rewarding on the financial front, some good news will bring happiness and will boost your morale. Close relative might make an unexpected visit bringing gifts and presents. These pleasant and memorable moments bring happiness and harmony at home. Your interest in religious and spiritual activities will make you seek divine knowledge. Aquarius: Entertainment will be on your mind, but do not leave your office without completing your work, or you will be in serious problems. Anxiety and indecisiveness that has plagued you in the past seems to end, as optimism and confidence seems to take control. Financial gains seem likely, but you need to be extra careful before entering into any new partnerships. Housewives are likely to be more involved into embroidery, cooking or other creative activities. Children will cause bit disappointment, as they spend lavishly on friends and parties. Pisces: This week you can make money through real estate investment. Your high energy level will bring enormous gains and enhance your reputation. Financially you will become more comfortable and have plenty of time for recreational and other activities. Members of the opposite sex will be source of inspiration and will help you in need of the hour. Some tension might arise with friends or relatives. Pleasure trip will be important for healing your emotional state of mind.
Chandigarh, India: +91-172- 256 2832, 257 2874 Delhi, India: +91-11- 2644 9898, 2648 9899 psharma@premastrologer.com; www.premastrologer.com
Annual Predictions: For those born in this week

November 17 Ruled by number 8 and the planet Saturn, you are dynamic, practical, responsible, hardworking, authoritative and highly disciplined. For you your duties and responsibilities take precedence over everything else, but you need to check your tendency to behave stubborn and jealous at times. This year you can look forward to major changes in your professional career. A long due transfer or a promotion can be expected towards the middle of the year. Those undertaking a foreign trip in the second half of the year will have a highly pleasurable and a very exciting journey. Do not spend lavishly on luxuries. Financial difficulties and health problems will mar peaceful atmosphere at home. Despite few initial problems earlier in the year, your financial position will become much better as new moneymaking projects will be undertaken. Spiritual gains for some later in the year. The month of April, August, May and June will be highly significant. November 18 Governed by number 9 and the planet Mars. You are dignified, sensitive, courageous, confident and diplomatic person. You are simple and very helpful, but you need to control your tendency to behave impatient and short-tempered at times. This year you will complete many of your pending jobs in hand. New money making opportunities will be highly promising, but will require you to give in your best. Speculations however will not be beneficial, therefore strictly not recommended. Investment in a house or land will bring you long term benefits. Relation with your spouse during this period will be cordial and on an even footing. Children will bring you good news and you will be proud of their achievements. Romantic alliances will prosper and strengthen. The months of March, May, June and July 2013 will be important. November 19 Influenced by number 1 and the Sun. You are active, energetic, authoritative, brilliant, systematic and a talented person. You always welcome new ideas and thoughts, but you need to check your tendency to behave spendthrift and dominating at times. This year you will feel more secure with your prevailing job and your monetary position will also improve. Money transaction however should be made carefully. Some losses due to speculation or hasty decision during this period cannot be ruled out. Businessmen will sign new and important contracts. Overseas ventures will be highly lucrative. This might not be the perfect year for matters relating to your heart and forming a matrimonial alliance. The latter half of the year will see you undertake a pilgrimage, which will bring you mental comfort and peace. The months of March, June, August 2013 will be highly result oriented. November 20 Ruled by number 2 and the Moon. You are imaginative, smart, trustworthy, generous and authoritative. You have good command over your work and people look up to you for advice and support, but you need to check your tendency to behave selfish and moody at times. The coming year will promise many new opportunities for growth. Your acumen in business will really do wonders, but you need to plan your budget well in advance and it will be wise not to go beyond it. Investment made in the past will bear fruits, making your financial position much comfortable. Property/legal disputes will settle to your satisfaction. Health definitely needs more attention. Meditation and Yoga should be practiced for spiritual gains as well as physical gains. Some exhilarating news from your children will boost up your spirits. Travel and journey, most likely overseas for some will ensure pleasure and excitement. The months of July, October and September 2013 will be eventful. November 21 Governed by number 3 and the planet Jupiter, you are intelligent, dignified, jovial, generous and an optimistic person. You are good at everything you do, which in return brings lots of appreciation and rewards for you. But you need to control over your tendency to behave spendthrift, dominating and vindictive at times. The coming year promises many new surprises and rewards for you. Financial benefits will flow through various sources. New sources of income will improve your financial position and ongoing projects will get a major boost. Journeys undertaken for work purpose will be beneficial and highly rewarding. Investment in a house and selected stocks recommended. Sudden expenses due to health problem in the family will bother your mind. Legal matters will prove expensive. Purchase of a property or a mode of transportation will be high on your agenda. The months of March, July, September and October 2013 will enhance prosperity. November 22 Influenced by number 4 and the planet Uranus, you are energetic, methodical, systematic and possess an attractive personality. You are highly social and helpful, but you need to check your tendency to behave jealous, self centered and destructive at times. A year of gifts and rewards. New proposals and assignments will boost your morale and confidence. Property transaction will bring you good returns and will also help raise money. Travel will be undertaken for building important relationships and monetary gains. Overseas journey or business transaction for some. Wedding bells will ring for some later in the year, and others will find romance to keep them going. Chronic patients need to take extra care for their health. Avoid lending and borrowing money. The months of February, August and September 2013 will be highly eventful. November 23 Ruled by number 5 and the planet Mercury, you are active, intelligent, sensible, systematic and highly courageous. You are a great admirer of music and literature, but you need to curb your tendency to behave moody, spendthrift and careless at times. This year success in whatever you do will keep you happy. Past investments will fetch you handsome returns and long pending judicial disputes will settle in your favour. The latter half of the year will see you getting closer to a spiritual person who will make a remarkable difference on your thinking and personality. Unexpected gains in cash and kind from near ones and friends through out the year. Stress and tension might lead to some minor health problems. The months of November, January, April and May 2013 will prove to be significant.
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i) Accurate Data: Please make sure Date, Time and Place of birth is accurate. ii) Careful: Did you check background of the astrologer before disclosing your secrets. iii) Fee: Discuss the charges before, dont feel shy. Its his business. iv) Expectation: Expect the best, if the outcome is not as desired, never give up. v) Consult: Take second opinion before spending thousands on cure/remedies.
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30
SPIRITUAL AWARENESS
Give thanks by giving

By Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj
hanksgiving is a special day in the United States devoted to giving thanks. It began with the newly arrived people from Europe who landed in America and gave thanks to the Native Americans for their help. Over time, Thanksgiving has come to symbolize giving thanks for anything in our lives for which we are grateful. Oftentimes, when we give thanks, it is because we received something from someone else. We may have received something from our family, our friends, our teachers, our community, or our country. We also may give thanks to God for the many gifts we received. For those who follow a particular religious belief, we may give thanks to the founder of that religion. For those who have a spiritual Master, we may give thanks for the spiritual treasures we received. Yet, most of these forms of thanks are for what we have received. There is another way to show appreciation and that is not only by thanking others, but by giving of ourselves. When we give thanks, it is mostly for what we have taken or received. If we really want to show appreciation for what we have received, we can express it by giving to others. It is a way of passing on the goodness of what we have received to others. In this way, we are not only takers, but we also become givers. Others in need become recipients of our gifts. Saints and Masters are shining examples of being givers. They want nothing for themselves from their disciples. They have everything they need. They are one with God, the source of all bliss and love. When we have love and joy, what else can compare to that? It is only we who have forgotten that innate love and joy who try to find it in the material wealth and playthings of the world. To illustrate this, there is an anecdote about a saintly man. He was devoted to God and spent a great amount of time in both prayer and service to his fellow human beings. He was generous to those in need and spent a lot of
time doing charitable work. As a result of his generosity, he was often in financial difficulties. His wife complained all the time about how he spent all their money helping others. One day, a poor man came to his house. The saintly man invited him in and listened to his long tale of sorrow. The man badly needed money to help his family. The saintly man was moved and wanted to help the poor man. The saintly man went to his lock box to see if he could give the man any money, but saw that he had used up his financial resources. His heart was so touched by the poor mans story that he could not bear to send the man away emptyhanded. When his wife was in the kitchen preparing a meal, the saintly man crept into her room and found her jewelry box. He
valuable thing they had leftthe ring. She implored her husband, Please, run after the man, and get the ring back. Tell him you have made a mistake. Tell him that you accidentally gave him a gold ring with a real diamond in it. The saintly man was stuck now, because his wife was expecting him to get the ring back from the man. The saintly man had no choice but to run after the man who had accepted the ring from them. The saintly man raced out of the house to catch up to the poor man. Breathlessly, the saintly man, caught up to the man, took him by the arm and said, I have to tell you something. The poor man turned to him and said, Yes, what is it? The saintly man said, My friend, I want you to know I made a big mistake. The poor man asked,
their children. Saints and Masters can do all this because they consider material earnings to be flimsy and impermanent. They know that worldly belongings will ultimately perish, and we will leave them at the time of death. To them, it does not matter whether they have material wealth or not. If they have it as a result of their hard work or circumstances in life, they are not attached to it. If they do not have it, they are content also. Some saints are in circumstances of wealth and some are in circumstances of simplicitythey accept the circumstances in which God places them. They are indifferent to their outer circumstance, because they know they are here to distribute spiritual wealth. Spiritual wealth is available to all, regardless of outer circum-
saw that she had a ring with a small diamond in it. He took the ring and brought it out to the poor man. The saintly man said to him, I do not have any money at the moment as I have given it all away. But I do have this ring I bought my wife, and you can surely sell it to get enough to help your family. The poor man was grateful. Tears came to his eyes. He thanked the saintly man and left with the ring. The wife, who was in the kitchen, had overheard parts of the conversation and did not make much of it because she could not believe her ears and thought she was hearing things. She thought she heard something about a ring, but could never imagine her husband would be giving away the ring he had bought her. But when she went to her room and saw her jewelry box lying open on the bed without the ring in it, she knew she had heard correctly. Her husband had, indeed, given away the ring to the poor man. She rushed out to the living room and began shouting at her husband for giving away the only
What is the mistake? The saintly man said, The ring I gave you is solid gold and the diamond is genuine. Make sure, then, that when you sell it to a jeweler he gives you its true value and doe not cheat you. This anecdote shows the extreme generosity of a saintly man. Instead of getting the ring back, he wanted to make sure the poor man got the fair value price for the jewelry. This story shows that saints care more about helping others than for their own material belongings. It is difficult for those living with a saint to understand this quality. Throughout history, they had to stand by while the saint dispensed grace and mercy to one and all. In this case, the wife had to share the gift she received from her husband with someone who was so needy he had nowhere else to turn. It is common to see saints sacrifice their own selves and their own needs for the needs of others. Sometimes the saint gives them straight out money. Sometimes they pay their bills for them. At other times, they help them with medical care. Sometimes they provide help for
stances in life. Saints teach that we can gain that divine wealth through receiving a conscious contact with the holy Word or Naam that can lead us back to God through the help of a living Master. If we were to come in contact with such a Master, we would transcend physical bodyconsciousness to know there are spiritual realms beyond. Our soul can soar through inner spiritual realms until it is united with God. When we reunite our soul with God we will experience spiritual love which penetrates to our core. Then, we too would be overflowing with love and radiate that to others. We have seen cases of extreme generosity in the lives of the saints. We have seen them being generous with their money and time. They bring solace and help to the poor, the needy, and the downtrodden. They bring comfort and peace to all who come, whether rich or poor. We know from the lives of Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj and Sant Darshan Singh Ji Maharaj that they would use whatever they earned to help others. If Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj
found people who could not afford food and medicine he would purchase these from his own money even if he had to forego his own needs until his next paycheck. There is the story of how, as a young man in his twenties, he would visit the sick and needy in hospitals. Once, his own uncle was hospitalized with an illness, so he went to visit him to assist him with food and medicine. There, in the next bed, was an elderly man who had no family or friends to visit him. The man was weak and thin and had no blanket to cover him. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji asked him, What can I do for you? Suddenly, tears flowed from the eyes of the elderly man. The man replied, It has been many years since somebody has asked me what he can do for me. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji was moved and decided to help the man. He began taking care of both his uncle and this elderly man. He brought them milk and fruit and paid for their medicines. Those were days when there was no health insurance and families would have to provide their own food and medicine if they were in a hospital. Although Sant Kirpal Singh Ji was only making a meager salary of his own, he spent his own money on helping the sick. As a result, he himself had to live on dry bread and water. His uncle observed this strange behavior, because most people only take care of their own families, especially when they have no financial resources of their own. His uncle questioned him about the care he was taking for the elderly stranger despite his own lack of resources, by asking, You are doing all you can for me because I am your uncle but I see that this old manwith no means to reward your services, receives the same kind of treatment from you as I do. Sant Kirpal Singh Ji beautifully replied, as is customary with all great saints, Respected uncle, you are both alike to me. He has as much right on me and my services as you have. In fact, the entire creation has the same right on me. I have come to serve all. (To be continued...) Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj is an internationally recognized spiritual leader and Master of Jyoti Meditation who affirms the transcendent oneness at the heart of all religions and mystic traditions, emphasizing ethical living and meditation as building blocks for achieving inner and outer peace. www.sos.org.
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The South Asian Times

Hope floats as Obama meets Congressional leaders on budget deal

WHITE HOUSE CELEBRATES DIWALI LED BY JOE BIDEN

Bhargava denies his 5-hour Energy drink linked to deaths

India demands probe into death in Ireland of woman denied abortion

Ami Bera declared winner for House seat from California

November 17-23, 2012

November 17-23, 2012

Obama visits New York, pledges continued attention to storm recovery

November 17-23, 2012

Israel prepares for ground assault in Gaza

Entering Congress, Tulsi Gabbard to take oath over Bhagavad Gita

Call of Duty: Black Ops II sells $500M in first day of sales

November 17-23, 2012

New York Tamil Sangam bids adieu to Ramesh Rajapur

Ramesh Rajapur, VP (Business Development), SBI, NY

Bhargavas energy drink under scanner for 13 deaths

November 17-23, 2012

Post-Sandy, Indian-Americans say never saw such devastation

Ashwani Kumar appeals to NRIs to invest in India

Aakash' maker among Forbes' 15 classroom revolutionaries

Sunita Williams wishes 'Happy Diwali' from space

November 17-23, 2012

Number of Indian students in US drops again Two senators bring resolution

Indian students enrollment in American universities dropped by 3.5 per cent

Obama to consult Nooyi, two Indian-Americans

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi

Clashes over control of a gurdwara, 2 stabbed

November 17-23, 2012

Claremont Lincoln University opens a Center for Jain Studies

South Asian groups urge Obama for immigration reform

Sikhs welcome Obama message on Diwali

Hindu Students Council congratulates Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard

November 17-23, 2012

For Sanskrit, with love

Priyanka Chopra- first Indian celebrity on X Factor

Sanskrit beginner course in progress

October 17-23, 2012

No evidence of security breach in Petraeus scandal: Obama

The messy Petraeus affair

Panetta orders military ethics review in wake of Petraeus sex scandal

BP to plead guilty, pay $4.5 billion for oil spill

Combative Obama vows to raise taxes on the rich

November 17-23, 2012

Romney attributes loss to 'gifts' Obama gave minorities

NBA commissioner estimates revenue of record $5 billion

Bobby Jindal distances himself from Romney

November 17-23, 2012

Bal Thackeray's condition improving: Uddhav

NUICC to open India headquarters in Jaipur

SP readies for 2014 polls, announces candidates

K.C. Pant dead, PM offers condolences

India's former defense minister Krishna Chandra Pant

November 17-23, 2012

Rahul to head Congress 2014 poll panel

BJP, Gurumurthy again back Gadkari

UPA, Congress question CAG over 2G

November 17-23, 2012

Suu Kyi seeks deeper ties with India

India launches probe against Wal-Mart

US should raise Tibet issue with China: Lobsang

Opposition to target FDI in retail in Parliament

Lobsang Sangay, leader of the Tibetan people