MUMBAI – Police have filed a sexual assault case against an airline passenger after 17-year-old Bollywood actress Zaira Wasim said the male passenger had molested her during a New Delhi-Mumbai flight, police said on Monday.
A special court ordered police to detain the passenger for interrogation until Wednesday, when the case will be heard next. It can take months for formal charges to be filed in India.
Wasim was seen sobbing in a video she posted on Instagram after getting off a Vistara flight. She alleged she was attacked by the passenger seated behind her.
“He kept nudging my shoulder and continued to move his foot up and down my back and neck,” Wasim said in the post. “Is this how we are going to take care of girls?”
The video sparked outrage on social media with fans coming out in support of Wasim, who shot to fame through her role as a child wrestler in the 2016 blockbuster Bollywood drama “Dangal”.
Police have registered a case against a man identified as Vikas Sachdeva, under Section 354 – for assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty – and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, a Mumbai police control room official said.
Vistara is jointly owned by Tata and Singapore Airlines.
“We are investigating fully and will support Zaira in every way required,” Vistara chief strategy and commercial officer Sanjiv Kapoor said. “We have zero tolerance for this kind of thing.”
Neither Sachdeva or his lawyers could be reached for comment. In court, Sachdeva’s lawyer accused Wasim of making the allegations for publicity, and asked why she had not complained to crew members during the flight.
Local media quoted the suspect’s wife, Divya Sachdeva, as saying her husband was innocent and that ahe was returning from a funeral and had been asleep on the flight. She accused Wasim of having made the allegations for publicity.
A spokeswoman for the airline said it had provided details to the police and aviation authorities and its senior management had flown to Mumbai to assist Wasim in the investigation. “We are deeply concerned and regret the unfortunate experience Ms. Zaira Wasim had onboard our flight last night.”
India’s National Commission for Women, a government-appointed body fighting for women’s rights, has asked the airline to explain why the crew did not step in to help the actress, according to local media reports.
“This is not done at all,” Wasim, who hails from the northern Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir, was seen saying in the video while wiping away tears. “This is not…how people should be made to feel.”
Bollywood’s multi-faceted talent Neeraj Vora, an actor, writer and director known for his humorous and happy streak on and off the screen, died here early on Thursday, months after being comatose.
Vora’s younger brother Uttank Vora told IANS that he died at 4 a.m. at an Andheri hospital. Vora was 54.
From the hospital, his body was taken to the house of producer Firoz Nadiadwala, who had been looking after him for over a year, and later to the electric crematorium in Santa Cruz here.
For months altogether, a room in Nadiadwala’s home Barkat was converted into a fully functional ICU for Vora.
Nadiadwala mourned his demise, saying: I’ve lost the battle to save my brother and friend from the clutches of death. His health had improved so much. But it deteriorated suddenly on Friday (December 8).
“He had to be shifted to hospital. But it was of no use. We lost him.”
Vora’s last rites saw Nadiadwala, Rohit Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan, Paresh Rawal, Sushant Singh Rajput, Deepak Tijori, Ashoke Pandit, Sunil Pal, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Meet Bros, Abbas-Mastan, Rajpal Yadav, Darshan Jariwala and other celebrities paying their last respects to Vora, who wrote “Rangeela”, directed “Phir Hera Pheri” and acted in “Bol Bachchan” among several other projects.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was saddened by the demise of the Gujarat-born actor, whom he described as “an energetic and creative personality”.
“He will be remembered for his films and warm nature,” Modi tweeted.
The film fraternity expressed grief over Vora’s death and said he was one of the best humorists that Indian cinema had.
Actor Akshay Kumar, who worked with him in “Awara Paagal Deewana”, “Deewane Huye Paagal”, “Ajnabee”, “Hera Pheri” and “Phir Hera Pheri”, said he ventured into the comedy genre because of Vora.
“One of the main reasons behind my foray into comedy, saddened to hear about the demise of Neeraj Vora a multitalented man, writer, director, actor… A mini industry by himself, learnt so much from him. RIP,” tweeted Akshay.
Aamir Khan, who was the lead actor of “Rangeela”, said: “Neeraj was a close friend, a collaborator, a vibrant force of life. His tragic illness and then demise is a loss not only to those close to him but also to the creative world.
“His sense of humour will be missed sorely. Laughter travelled with him.”
Veteran actor Anupam Kher wrote: “Neeraj Vora was one of the most pleasant persons I knew in our film industry.
NEW YORK – The holidays are ruined for tens of thousands of immigrant families in the US. Ominous rumors, speculation and warnings from immigration experts and lawyers have finally come true: the Trump Administration has shown their hand after months of remaining stoic. They are moving forward to terminate the Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or work permit, for H-4 visa workers – given to spouses and dependents of H-1B visa workers – in 2018.
The protectionist and obnoxious move by the White House, to curb and kill the aspirations of skilled professionals who have been living in the US for years or decades on an H-4 visa, is yet another trashing of an Obama Administration rule. It’s also yet another slap in the face of skilled immigrants, who are increasingly on a slippery slope till they get a Green Card, or permanent residency.
The Trump Administration issued a notice, titled ‘Removing H-4 Dependent Spouses from the Class of Aliens Eligible for Employment Authorization’, on December 14, as part of its ‘Unified Agenda’, a bi-annual list of regulations by various federal agencies. In it, the administration plans to propose an official rule in the Federal Register by February, 2018, and thereafter all existing EADs given to H-4 visa holders will be trashed, and no new ones will be issued.
The move has been hanging in balance for more than two years now, after a group called Save Jobs USA filed a lawsuit in April 2015 arguing that EAd to H-4 visa holders threatens American jobs, and pulls down salaries. It gained momentum after Trump became president, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions declared the H-4 EAD rule “hurts American workers.” In February this year, the Trump Administration asked for a 60-day pause to allow the new administration to assess the case.
In issuing the statement, which is sure to see a lot of highly skilled women break into tears, go into emotional distress, the Department of Homeland Security didn’t cite any reason, saying only it was acting “in light of” the “Buy American, Hire American” executive order that Trump signed in April.
The rule to give EAD to some H-4 visa holders was met with elation by tens of thousands of mostly women, a lot of them from India, who got freedom to legally work and earn money for their family. They rejoiced, felt they finally ‘belonged’ in America; were not second-class citizens, who could become a wife and mother at their free will, but were prohibited by the government to work, unless to do voluntary service for no pay in their local community.
Indians are the largest holders of H-4 visas, comprising nearly 80% of the 125,000 issued in 2015 alone. Women account for 90% of all H-4 visas. Over 41,000 of EADs were approved in the year-ended September 2016, according to the Wall Street Journal. During the next year, more than 36,000 applications were approved, through June.
An Indian woman, Meghna Damani, who left her advertising job in Mumbai to marry and move to the US, told Quartz in an interview last year, of her excruciating ordeal on an H-4 visa with no EAD: “I could not work and I realized I did not have a sense of purpose.” She battled severe depression during this time, a manifestation of the pressure that many H-4 spouses feel after years of remaining unemployed just to be able to live with their partners, noted the report. “I wanted to just die. To no longer feel this guilt, this wastefulness. To no longer feel like a burden,” she added.
The DHS dropped another bombshell, on December 14, apart from their statement on the H-4 EAD, which is sure to make the entire H-1B community panic and agonize, as well as make Indian outsourcing companies in particular jittery about future hires: it mentioned plans for changes to the H-1B visa program. India accounts for 70% of all H-1B workers, of the 85,000 visas issued annually.
While not being explicit, DHS said they are in the process of revising the definition of what occupations are eligible for the program “to increase focus on truly obtaining the best and brightest foreign nationals.”
The H-1B visa has been roiled in controversy since the Trump Administration took over. Premium processing for H-1B visas for an additional fee was suspended; the application for computer programmers was made harder, and the Request for Evidence (REF) have gone up alarmingly, which delays or even cancels an H-1B which has been issued, putting both workers and companies in limbo.
The new declaration by DHS is far more serious: it’s likely that soon the DHS may bar all low level technology workers (read that as those who are not from reputed universities in India, or those without years of experience at a top notch overseas multinational company, and those who won’t be offered a six figure or close to six figure salary) to be barred from applying, for an H-1B visa. It could also mean that extension of H-1B visa for tens of thousands of current H-1B visa holders, could be rejected.
Next in the line of Trump’s move against legal immigration: to end the diversity visa lottery (which is fine, and it’s time to do it) and clean up the act of ‘chain migration’ – where family members can sponsor relatives, and replace it with a skills and merit-based visa system.
(Sujeet Rajan is Executive Editor, Parikh Worldwide Media. Email him: sujeet@newsindiatimes.com follow him on Twitter @SujeetRajan1)
Minorities like Indian-Americans and South Asians have striven for decades to be part of the melting pot that is America. But they also crave to be recognized for their differences. No time is more telling than Christmas when this community which is made up of so many faiths, displays a varied but open approach to a festival that only some of them espouse as a religious one.
For Indian Christians, it is a time of deep reflection, and a time to meet fellow devotees hailing from different parts of India, as well as keeping children engaged with the faith as they follow the traditions of their country of origin. Indian churches in America ring out with the Telugu “Shudda Raathri” and Malayalam “Devivam Pirakkunu” or Punjabi “Sada Yesu Aj” and Bengali “Eshe Gelo Sei Subho Din,” rather than English renditions.
A rough estimate of Indian Christian organizations in the New York and New Jersey area alone, showed a list of more than 35 churches in 2015, reflecting India’s diversity, with congregations ranging from as small as under a hundred to those like Syrian Christian ones with several thousand followers (News India Times Dec. 23, 2015).
The Faithful
According to a Pew Research study based on the 2010 U.S. Census, 18 percent of Indian-Americans identified themselves as Christians, 51 percent as Hindus, 10 percent as Muslim, and 1 percent identified as Sikh, though the advocacy group, the Sikh Coalition, says there are more than 500,000 Sikhs in the country.
Indian and South Asian Christians display a rich cultural diversity within the faith. The Church of South India Malayalam Congregation of Greater New York, has a Christmas Carol service planned for Dec. 23, and prayers and gatherings scheduled for its members. It is the largest Church of South India congregation in North America, started in the 1980s, according to its website, and is now located in Seaford, Long Island. The St. Johns Mar Thoma Church in Queens Village has the Holy Communion and Christmas Day service on Dec. 25. This church began in 1990 with just 17 families and has grown to more than 240 families.
Sunny Gill Masih, a Christian from Pakistan who works as a casting director and producer in Philadelphia, PA, told News India Times he is using this Christmas to raise funds for refugees of all faiths stranded in different countries. This Dec. 23, he is organizing “Christmas Night” for which gospel singers from different cities will gather at that fundraising event. He will also attend church on Dec. 25 for the Christmas service which will be conducted in Urdu.
One could hazard a guess from anecdotal evidence, that a majority of Indian- Americans, whether religious or secular, celebrate the joyfulness and the “spirit” of giving, during Christmas. A video circulated by the National Sikh Campaign, shows local Sikh community organizations of Santa Rosa and Turlock, in California, participating in a Christmas event, with Sikh youth manning a free hot chocolate stall and an elderly Sikh man wishing people Merry Christmas urging them to take a glass of milk. All as Christmas songs and carols blare from speakers.
Tolerance
“Obviously, we are Hindu, so we celebrate the various festivals associated with that faith,” Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, told News India Times. “But we do celebrate Christmas and believe in the fellowship, charity and exchanging of gifts,” he said about his family, adding, “And we have a Christmas tree.”
Similar to the Hindu festival of Diwali, Krishnamoorthi and his family exchange gifts, give gifts to the children, “And I’m sure Santa will also have some gifts for the grown-ups under the tree,” he quips.
On a more serious note, Krishnamoorthi says it is “good to be tolerant of other people, their faiths, and not judging.” He points to the annual Diwali festival held on Capitol Hill and at the White House. “We had three dozen members of Congress (at Diwali on Capitol Hill) and not all were Hindu,” he laughs recalling this year’s celebrations. “So it goes both ways.”
Even if Christmas is a personal choice for those of other faiths, the festival has a broader meaning than only the religious, a point made by several people interviewed for this article. “It is about helping fellowman or woman, donating to causes … For example, we make a big donation to our Hindu temple around this time of year,” Krishnamoorthi said. “There’s great diversity obviously amongst Hindus,” conceded Suhag Shukla, co-founder and executive director of the advocacy organization Hindu American Foundation. Many celebrate a “Hallmark” version of Christmas, while who would never consider celebrating Christmas. “Then there are those that might create new celebrations or find traditional Hindu holidays that coincide with the season in order to partake in the larger, festive season, but still carve out traditions that reflect their own religious and cultural contexts,” reflecting what Krishnamoorthi said his family does.
For News India Times publisher and Padma Shri recipient Dr. Sudhir Parikh, who has a chain of more than 20 clinics around the tri-state area, Christmas brings him some reprieve. “I look at Christmas as a great holiday rather than a religious festival. It is a time when we are celebrating the year that has gone by and the good fortune to look forward to in the year to come,” he said, adding, “People should celebrate it as a holiday for all.”
Joyfulness
For Vivek Wadhwa, an entrepreneur, writer and researcher of some renown from Silicon Valley, Christmas today is spent listening to all the carols and music on numerous radio stations that he has programmed his car radio to provide him with the press of a button or a voice command. “I can sing along with virtually all of them,” he says, and breaks into Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer. It wasn’t always like that. When his children were little it was the whole works – Christmas tree, presents, carols and all the trappings. Now the children have grown and scattered around the country, and there is no tree in the house. Wadhwa, who considers himself “spiritual but not religious” says his whole life has been spent in Western countries, which is why, “I love Christmas. It’s pretty much my favorite festival, even more than Diwali. For one thing, it lasts longer,” he jokes. When he ran a company, Wadhwa and his wife held Christmas parties for employees, each getting a present, and there were appropriate decorations at the office.
New Jersey resident Shahnaz Sheikh’s father and grandfather were in the Indian and British Armies respectively. Despite her being a Muslim, Christmas was celebrated in her house way before she was born and growing up, she witnessed her mother frying kal-kals and baking fruit cakes, and she herself joined friends to go carol singing in India. As a Manhattanite for 30 years, Sheikh put up a Christmas tree in her apartment, and brought much of that fun of Christmas with her to the U.S. She looks forward to it she says, as much as the Hindu festival of Diwali. “Shopping is also a big part of it. I love getting gifts for others,” she says.
In Silicon Valley, Indian-Americans celebrate with parties, but it is also a personal choice how much they want to engage with the festival, Wadhwa says based on his observations. The India Community Center in Milpitas, California, one of the largest such centers in the area, organized a Christmas Art Workshop Dec. 16. Organizers could not be reached by press time.
A woman decorates the exteriors of her house ahead of the Christmas celebrations in Ahmedabad December 22, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Teachable Moment
“Any holiday is an opportunity to both share the force of good that religion ought to be,” opines Shukla of the Hindu American Foundation. “It’s also an opportunity for us to teach and learn,” the differences and similarities of the world’s faiths, Shukla added.
In New Jersey, Mayor-elect of Hoboken Ravinder Bhalla, has had to combat fake news that he would be cancelling Christmas. He told News India Times that mainstream newspapers called him to find out if the story was true. “Are you joking?” Bhalla retorted. In fact, he officiated during the lighting of the City Hall Christmas tree in Hoboken, and he has addressed several church congregations during their Christmas services in the city over the last few weeks.
Bhalla has two children, a 5 year old son and 10 year old daughter. “We’re of course Sikh, and don’t celebrate Christmas in a religious way,” he said. “But there’s a cultural aspect to it. We definitely celebrate the Christmas spirit.” At his home, there’s been a Christmas tree with ornaments, and a plate of cookies and a glass of milk are left on Christmas Eve for Santa. “Our 5- year old has written to Santa Claus and posted the letter to the North Pole and of course said what a good boy he’s been. And he is keeping his fingers crossed he will getting a nice gift,” Bhalla says. The couple makes sure kids go to sleep early on Christmas Eve and the morning is just so exciting. “It’s a family time of giving and sharing,” says Bhalla.
His views were echoed by another Sikh, Lt. Col. Kamal S. Kalsi, said his family also boasts a Christmas tree and all the trappings. “We also celebrate Diwali, Vaisakhi, and teach our children to celebrate all faiths,” he said, adding, “Whenever you adopt a culture or new things, you enrich your life.”
Indian American Karunakar Karengle was shot and killed during a robbery at his own convenience store in Fairfield, Ohio.
According to WLWT5, Karengle was working on Monday, Dec. 11 at the Jiffy Convenience Mart when two men came in with a firearm at around 10 p.m., shot Karengle and took some money and left.
First responders from the Fairfield Fire Department arrived at the scene and took Karengle to UC West Chester Hospital where he died on Friday, Dec. 15.
His identity had been withheld until his family in India was notified and no arrests have been made yet.
While the description of the men is unavailable, police told the Journal News that they both were wearing hoodies covering most of their faces, one wore a dark jacket while the other wore a light colored jacket.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Fairfield Police Department Tip Line at 513-896-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040 as well as submit a Tip on the city’s website at www.fairfieldoh.gov/AnonymousCrimeTip.
Individuals with information can remain anonymous and may receive a reward.
NEW YORK – Indian American senator Kamala Harris became the seventh senator to publicly call for President Donald Trump to resign amongst accusations of sexual harassment and assault, on December 14.
“I think he should resign in the best interest of the country,” Harris told Politico after Trump’s past accusations of sexual misconduct were brought into the limelight again.
According to Politico, at least 16 women have accused Trump of inappropriate behavior.
Trump even tweeted that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) used to “come to my office ‘begging’ for campaign contributions” and that she “would do anything for them.”
Harris told Politico that Trump’s tweet “was completely inappropriate on every level.”
“First of all, we know he’s not going to resign. So let’s just be clear about that. But if he were going to make a decision that was in the best interest of the country, I think he should. He should seriously consider it,” she said.
Others who have told Trump to resign as president include Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
Repeatedly denying the accusations of sexual misconduct, Trump tweeted that these are “false accusations and fabricated stories” but Harris believes these accusers and said that “there should be some inquiry into the veracity of their claims.”
Politico also asked Harris if she thought that the country had reached a turning point on issues of sexual harassment, to which she said, “I don’t think we have arrived at that point. I’ll give you a specific example, you can talk to a lot of women senators who will talk about what it’s been like around here for the last few weeks, when we’re debating a tax bill – we haven’t seen tax reform attempted since 1986 – and that’s not the question that is the lead question or any question that’s being asked of women.”
Harris added that female senators are primarily asked about sexual harassment.
“There have been people saying, ‘Well, this is the issue for the women of the Senate,’ which is ridiculous,” she said. “We still have a lot of work to do on having people understand this is everyone’s issue.”
According to the ‘World Migration Report (2018)’, published by the International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, the Indian diaspora is the world’s largest diaspora, with a little more than 15.6 million people from India living overseas.
According to the report, in 2015, the Indian diaspora constituted six percent of the total number of international migrants with an estimate of 243 million people which means that out of global population of 7.3 billion, one of every 30 people was a migrant in 2015.
If computed as a percentage of the world’s population, the growth of the diaspora has been largely static, from 3.2% in 2010 to 3.3% in 2015, with those between the ages of 20 to 64 years, accounting for nearly 72 percent of that amount.
The report states that nearly half of all international migrants throughout the world were born in Asia, primarily originating from India, China and other South Asian countries.
After India, Mexico has the second largest diaspora followed by Russia, China, Bangladesh and Pakistan and since 1970; the U.S. has been the main destination for international migrants and the number of foreign-born people residing in the U.S. has almost quadrupled from fewer than 12 million in 1970 to 46.6 million in 2015 with nearly two million being Indian.
But it is actually the Gulf nations who house the biggest population of the Indian diaspora with nearly 3.5 million or 22 percent living in the UAE and 1.9 million or 12 percent living in Saudi Arabia.
According to a Times of India report, immigration experts say that it is very likely more Indians will migrate to other countries through the H-1B visa program as “we are witnessing intense vetting of applications for H-1B, the most popular work visa for Indians headed to the US, and entry into the US is likely to involve stricter rules.”
Mrs. India USA 2017 Kavita Malhotra Pattani, Miss India USA 2017 Shree Saini and Miss Teen India USA 2017 Swapna Mannam Photo By: Hemant Pandya
Shree Saini, 21, from Washington state was crowned Miss India USA 2017 on Dec. 17 at Royal Albert’s Palace in Fords, NJ.
Prachi Shah, 22, from Connecticut was the first runner up in the Miss India USA category and Fareena from North Carolina was the second runner up.
Swapna Mannam, 17, of New Jersey was crowned Miss Teen India USA 2017 and Kavita Malhotra Pattani, a cancer surgeon from Florida was crowned Mrs. India USA 2017.
Simran was the first runner up in the Miss Teen India USA category and Kritika was the second runner up while Prerna was the first runner up in the Mrs. India USA category and Ishwarya was the second runner up.
Miss India USA 2017 Shree Saini with Shobna Patel and Miss India USA 2016 Madhu Valli Photo By: Hemant Pandya
Saini is a student at the University of Washington and wants to dedicate her life to community service.
At the age of 12, Saini had to get a pacemaker implanted because her heart was only beating at 20 beats per minute and she was told that she would never be able to dance again but her heartwarming performance on her experience won the audiences’ and judges’ hearts.
Saini was also a victim of bullying in high school and has been campaigning against it ever since, she also wants to eliminate human trafficking and work towards promoting the importance of emotional well-being in society.
Shah, a graduate from the University of Connecticut, was seen rapping to Shankar Mahadevan’s song “Breathless” along with some other ones under her rapper name ‘Pracho Nacho,’ she will be pursuing a Master’s in Elementary Education next year.
Fareena dedicated her performance on the song “Maar Daala” to women empowerment.
Miss Teen India USA 2017 Swapna Mannam Photo By: Hemant Pandya
All 52 contestants were dressed in ethnic wear and were seen dancing to the songs “Badri Ki Dulhania” and “Laila Main Laila” at the beginning of the show.
The pageant was judged by a panel of six judges including Prabhakar Sharan, the first Indian to establish a mark in the Latin American movie industry.
The Miss India USA pageant was started in 1980 by New York-based Indian-Americans Dharmatma Saran and Neelam Saran.
It is the longest running Indian pageant taking place outside of India and has provided a platform to several renowned Indian artists such as Bollywood actresses Aarti Chabria, Pooja Kumar and Monica Gill.
Mrs. India USA 2017 Kavita Malhotra Pattani Photo By: Hemant Pandya
Hasan Rahman (Courtesy: Wichita Bengali Community)
NEW YORK – A Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas, is offering a $10,000 reward for any information which will lead to the murderer of Indian American Hasan Rahman.
According to the Wichita Eagle, on the night of Nov. 25, Rahman had made a couple of deliveries in the 1100 and 1300 blocks of North Williamsburg and didn’t return to work.
Rahman’s body was found in the trunk of his car the next day, about 3 miles away from where he was delivering pizzas the night before.
Police told KWCH12 that it didn’t appear that Rahman had been robbed but have no leads in the case.
“We are hopeful it will help lead to an arrest in this senseless crime,” Kym Money, the director of marketing for Pizza Hut of Southeast Kansas, told the Wichita Eagle in an e-mail adding that he feels so helpless, “this is a tangible expression of our grief.”
Crime Stoppers of Wichita/Sedgwick County is also offering a reward of up to $2,500.
If anyone has any information about the crime, they are to call Crime Stoppers at 267-2111 or toll free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8177).
They can also submit a tip online or from their phone by texting TIP217 then your message to CRIMES (274637).
NEW YORK – The American Pain Association (APA) launched their national “Turn the Tide Summit” tour on Wednesday, Dec. 13, at Rowan University Medical School in Camden, NJ, to address the challenges and strategies surrounding the nation’s opioid epidemic.
The association’s goal is to go state-to-state and raise awareness as well as open up dialogue about opioid epidemic and introduce ways to combat it.
The tour will also provide a platform for lawmakers, athletes, music and film artists and others to come together to spread the message, it said in a press release.
“We need more dialogue and discussion on this epidemic. NRI kids are especially prone to smoking, drinking and drugs given the immense parental and competitive pressure. In India also this trend is increasing, but not many are talking about it and it remains a hidden epidemic in India,” said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, President of the American Pain Association and the originator and orchestrator of the Turn the Tide tour, in a statement.
“With 65% of its population under 35 years of age, India is a young country and it is a really big danger, as it can spread devastatingly and we should stop it before it is too late. It is sad the country of Swami Vivekanand and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who are the pinnacles and examples of strong character and strength, is falling prey to the drugs,” he added, saying that, “India should be the leader and example to the world in not succumbing to drugs but unfortunately we are blindly following the west, which itself is badly destroyed by this. India should be teaching the west how to be live without drugs, drinking and smoking, rather than learning from west to drink or do drugs.”
Also present at the launch were New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Dr. Kavita Gupta, Lindy Snider, Dr. Vanila M Singh, athletes Marvin Washington, Riley Cote and Todd Herremans and Bollywood singer Ali Quali Mirza.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks
“In the age of social media, Music and Film content from Hollywood and Bollywood is uncensored and spreads virally sending wrong message worldwide. We need a conscious and active participation from Hollywood and Bollywood industry in this,” said Dr. Kavita Gupta.
“It has taken lives of many Hollywood Celebrities including Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Heath Ledger and the list goes on. We need to start discussing and talking about this topic that has huge stigma attached to it. Keeping quiet and under the rug will only make the situation worst,” she added, saying that a social media public campaign with hashtag #turnthetide will help raise awareness of opioid use.
Bollywood singer and rapper Ali Quali Mirza agreed with Dr. Gupta.
“Although peer pressure on artists is huge, I don’t drink or smoke. I agree with Dr. Gupta that Hollywood and Bollywood can help a lot in spreading the message that one can be happy without smoking, drinking and drugs,” he said.
“We need to engage kids in music and arts and teach them ways to be happy without drugs or drinking and smoking. I consider today a historic launch of a new era and hopefully slowly this worldwide deadly tide will turn. I am so glad to join all the athletes and music and film professionals in this great effort,” he added.
“This deadly epidemic has taken the whole US as a storm killing the youth, kids of all races and ages. With more than 500,000 American deaths, this has become a #1 national crisis and President Trump this month declared a National emergency on this issue. The severity of this epidemic can be estimated by the fact that just last year the number of American deaths with this epidemic was more than the American deaths in the entire VietnamWar but somehow and unfortunately, all efforts over last years to curb this deadly epidemic have failed,” stated Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
“We not only need to declare an emergency but need to raise a war against this epidemic in U.S. and worldwide as this is killing more people than any war or terrorist attack. We need to have an ‘inter-agency central command center’ at the International, National and state level to coordinate efforts against this epidemic,” he added.
Governor Chris Christie speaks
“Because of this epidemic a 9/11 disaster is happening every two weeks and we are committed to putting a stop to this. Government won’t be able to do it alone without the help of public and private partnership. He gave the example of AIDS, where people came marching in streets to gather support for a topic with huge stigma,” said Governor Christie.
Marvin Washington of the NY Jets, Todd Herremans of the Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts as well as Riley Cote of the Philadelphia Flyers shared some of their personal experiences with opioids.
“We are a generation in crisis. This is a bipartisan issue, affecting all walks of life, indiscriminate of religion, race or gender,” said Washington.
“This is an opportunity for policy makers, medical professionals, athletes and patients alike to approach these issues together,” said Cote.
“Professional sports teach you what it means to be a team. If we truly want to save lives and end the opioid epidemic, it’s time for our nation to come together as a team; leaving no stone unturned until a viable solution has been found,” said Herremans.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta said that they want to take the tour to India one day and may host a world summit on this important issue which is destroying the world.
NEW YORK – ‘Mona Darling’, directed by Shashi Sudigala, which had its international premiere at the South Asian International Film Festival in New York, exemplifies the atrociously bad and crass films that is being churned out from India in a heap and thrown at gullible theatre-going audiences.
Billed as a ‘social media’ thriller, ‘Mona Darling’ is anything but that: instead, it’s pure tribute to tedium and lack of intelligence in scriptwriting, and filmmaking.
The film’s script, with its disappointing, disjointed narrative – its major handicap, is a vexatious, venom-less, futile puzzle for most of the 111 minutes it drags on for. However, the prime hallmark of the film is predictably boring pace, barring the ridiculous, implausible climax, which is as inane as the premise of the film.
Suzanna Mukherjee
Sudigala seems to have taken inspiration from Ram Gopal Varma for sleaze and horror, in some of the opening scenes, but then chickened out, in favor of suggested porn or erotica on screen devices which students on a campus and all denizens of a state seem to ogle and find mirth in. However, the audience are deprived of seeing what exactly it is, and making a judgment call on whether this called for the kind of revenge mania that ensues in the film, and the body count that piles up.
Divya Menon and Anshuman Jha.
The two lead actresses – Suzanna Mukherjee (who plays Mona), and Divya Menon (who plays Sarah, the friend of Mona), along with Anshuman Jha, (who plays a computer geek Wiki, who helps to unravel the mystery of Mona’s disappearance on a college campus, after four male students are found dead) give creditable performances, given the limitations of the juvenile script, which behaves like a cat with a ball of wool to play with, gets entangled in its intricacies as the minutes tick by.
The plot of the film is also a mashup of obnoxious and lackluster frat behavior, campus politics (with Sanjay Suri playing the Dean) and bewildering veering to a dash of the supernatural. Younger viewers who watched the drama play out, probably might have wished they were back home playing a game on Xbox, rather than trying to figure out the melodrama on screen, which played out to an half-empty Landmark Sunshine Cinema theatre, in Manhattan, last Thursday.
The plot of the film, at least where it pertains to invasion of privacy through social media sharing, cyber bullying, and making friends through Facebook, seems as antiquated as introducing a can of diet coke in India. It’s not only an assault of the senses, by Sudigala, but an insult to a country where technology pervades every aspect of life in metropolitan cities, and its suburbs, and prides itself on a growing number of smart cities.
A totally avoidable film to watch: 1 star out of 5.
NEW YORK – The Trump administration is expanding its war on legal immigration yet again with its focus this time on “chain migration,” a costly loophole that allows a legal immigrant to bring in relatives even if they are unskilled and destined to go on welfare.
According to the Washington Examiner, a package released by the White House finds that there are no benefits to this practice and has instead put a $300 billion annual cost on this type of immigration, claiming that “the overwhelming number of relatives let in do not have proper job skills and indicated that there is virtually no end to the ‘chain’ that can be tapped to enter the U.S.”
“Despite being a modern economy, the United States awards most of its green cards on an antiquated system of family ties, not skill or merit. This system of Chain Migration—whereby one immigrant can bring in their entire extended families, who can bring in their families and so on—de-skills the labor force, puts downward pressure on wages, and increases the deficit,” a White House official told Breitbart News in a statement.
“Chain Migration also undermines national security, by failing to establish merit-based criteria for evaluating entrants into the United States—instead, familial relations are all that is required to obtain a green card and, in turn, become a voting U.S. Citizen within a short period of time, with access to Federal welfare and government benefits,” the official added.
The White House distributed several charts showing the impact of “chain migration.”
One chart showed that a single immigrant could be responsible for getting another 120 into the country legally and that over the last decade, the White House states that 9.3 million immigrants have come in via family ties, which are more than the populations of Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and Cleveland combined.
Another chart showed that of all that are given temporary green card status, 65 percent come in because of family ties, not because they are needed in the workforce or are refugees and once in the U.S., the White House warned that many can become a fiscal burden on taxpayers and eventually get voting rights.
The call to end “chain migration” came last week from President Donald Trump when he announced that the Bangladeshi national Akayed Ullah, who is convicted of a failed terrorist attack in New York City this month, came into the U.S. in 2011 through extended-family immigration process.
“As President, my greatest duty is to protect our nation and to protect our people. As we have witnessed recently, America faces grave threats. Terrorists have struck in the streets and subways of New York City twice in a few months. Both terrorists came to our country through the dysfunctional immigration system that we are correcting, and rapidly. And one came through chain migration,” Trump said in remarks at the FBI National Academy Graduation Ceremony.
“We’re calling for Congress to end chain migration and to end the visa lottery system, and replace it with a merit-based system of immigration. We want a system that puts the needs of American families, taxpayers, and security first,” he added.
According to the Breitbart News, since 2005, the U.S. has imported more than 140,000 Bangladesh nationals through chain migration, and over the last decade, 1.7 million chain migrants have entered the country from Mexico along with 600,000 from India, 600,000 from the Philippines, 500,000 from China and 177,000 from Pakistan.
The Breitbart News also reported that more than 117,000 have come from terrorist-funded countries with more than 80,000 from Iran, nearly 30,000 from Syria and more than 8,000 from Sudan.
However, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Lee Francis Cissna, the Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) have yet to take this issue seriously.
In August, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) and Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) introduced a Trump endorsed legislation known as the RAISE Act, which would officially end chain migration, thus cutting annual legal immigration levels in half, taking them from more than one million immigrants a year to 500,000 a year.
This move would also raise wages for American workers and stabilize the U.S. population but has not yet been brought up by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Likewise, the SECURE Act, which was introduced this month by a group of Senators led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), would end chain migration, but ties the issue to giving amnesty to nearly 800,000 illegal aliens who have been shielded from deportation by the President Obama-created Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Though the SECURE Act was designed to be a compromise between the Trump administration and the Republican establishment, by giving DACA illegal aliens amnesty while also ending chain migration, the legislation was immediately shut down by Democrats and has not been pushed as even a remote possibility by McConnell.
Overall the bottom line from the White House is:
Most green cards in the United States are awarded based on an antiquated system of family ties, not skill or merit. This system of chain migration – whereby one immigrant can bring in their entire extended families, who can bring in their families and so on – de-skills the labor force, puts downward pressure on wages, and increases the deficit. Chain migration also undermines national security, by failing to establish merit-based criteria for evaluating entrants into the United States – instead, familial relations are all that is required to obtain a green card and, in turn, become a voting U.S. citizen within a short period of time, with access to federal welfare and government benefits.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi walks to speak with the media as he arrives at the parliament house to attend the first day of the budget session, in New Delhi, India, January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi
GANDHINAGAR – The ruling BJP was on Monday set to retain power in Gujarat, just edging past the half-way mark in one of the most bitterly contested elections that saw the Congress improve its tally compared to five years ago.
Election Commission officials said the Bharatiya Janata Party, on course for its sixth consecutive win, had bagged 58 seats and was leading in 41 while the Congress had won 50 and was forging ahead in 27 more.
Smaller parties and independents had won three seats and were leading in three.
While the BJP celebrated all across Gujarat and in Delhi, the 99-seat tally was far less than the 150 BJP President Amit Shah had set for the party to win and 16 less than what it got in 2012 despite intense campaigning by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Congress, its campaign led by its now President Rahul Gandhi, was poised to finish with a tally of 77, 16 more than what it bagged five years ago.
Outside Parliament, a beaming Modi flashed a V sign to celebrate the victory in his home state. Senior BJP leaders taunted Rahul Gandhi and said the result proved that the people had embraced the Gujarat model of development.
But the BJP’s overall vote share in the state plunged from 60.11 per cent notched in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls to 49 per cent, indicating a sharp erosion in support base in a state which the party considers its fortress.
The vote share of the Congress, which joined hands with Patidar leader Hardik Patel, Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani and OBC leader Alpesh Thakore, soared from 33.45 per cent of 2014 to 41.5 per cent.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani brushed aside reports of BJP’s waning support, saying the winner was always the king. “Jo jeeta wo hi Sikander.”
As the vote count began across Gujarat at 8 a.m., at one point the Congress leads went past the BJP’s, giving a scare to the ruling party and sending the stock markets plunging down.
The BJP, however, managed to recover lost ground and eventually went past the half-way mark of 92 seats needed to control the 182-member House.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani (Rajkot West) and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel (Mehsana) trailed to the Congress early in the day before bouncing back and winning. While Rupani won by 50,412 votes, Patel’s victory margin was 7,951 votes.
The BJP also held on in most seats affected by the Patidar agitation demanding job quotas, provoking community leader Hardik Patel to complain about faulty Electronic Voting Machines.
While the BJP dominated over the Congress in South, Central and North Gujarat, the Congress held the upper hand in the sprawling Saurashtra/Kutch region.
The BJP also proved its sway over urban centres while the Congress seats came mostly from rural regions.
All Congress Chief Ministerial contenders lost — Shaktisinh Gohil (Mandvi), Arjun Modhwadia (Bokhiria) and Siddharth Patel (Dabhoi).
But the BJP suffered a setback in Unjha constituency which includes Modi’s hometown Vardana where he grew up.
The Gujarat election was held on December 9 and 14 and was marked by a viciousness that pitted Prime Minister Modi against the Congress, including his predecessor Manmohan Singh.
Modi had been the Gujarat Chief Minister from 2001 until he became the Prime Minister in 2014. It was the first Assembly election in Gujarat after Modi shifted to New Delhi.
US President Donald Trump during a joint press statement after meeting with the Indian PM, Naremdra Modi at the White House Rose Garden. Washington DC,; June 26, 2017 Photo:-Jay Mandal/On Assignment
NEW YORK – Unveiling his “America First National Strategy,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington will support a “leadership role” for India in the “broader” Indo-Pacific region.
Trump’s all-encompassing strategy plan looks for allies to face what he sees as “an extraordinarily dangerous world, filled with a wide range of threats”.
Against this scenario, he declared: “We will deepen our strategic partnership with India and support its leadership role in Indian Ocean security and throughout the broader region.”
Turning to Islamabad, Trump said, “We will press Pakistan to intensify its counterterrorism efforts, since no partnership can survive a country’s support for militants and terrorists who target a partner’s own service members and officials. The United States will also encourage Pakistan to continue demonstrating that it is a responsible steward of its nuclear assets.”
A significant part of his strategic document that he was scheduled to present in Washington was devoted to threats from China which he framed as “a geopolitical competition between free and repressive visions of world order is taking place in the Indo-Pacific region”.
“China is using economic inducements and penalties, influence operations, and implied military threats to persuade other states to heed its political and security agenda,” he said.
In this theatre, he said: “We welcome India’s emergence as a leading global power and stronger strategic and defense partner. We will seek to increase quadrilateral cooperation with Japan, Australia, and India.”
While Trump has set out an American strategy along these lines in recent months, these declarations of India’s role and ties with it were reiterated in a global context with his strategic plan.
A still image from a video camera shows an Amtrak train that derailed on a bridge over a highway in Pierce County, Washington state, U.S., December 18, 2017. WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION/Handout via REUTERS
Several people were killed and scores more injured when an Amtrak train on its inaugural trip on a new route derailed south of Seattle on Monday morning while crossing a bridge above a busy interstate, authorities said.
Officials said at least 13 cars jumped the tracks. The Associated Press reported the derailment killed at least six people, citing an anonymous U.S. official who was briefed on the investigation. Local officials haven’t confirmed the death toll.
A total of 77 people were sent to hospitals, according to CHI Franciscan Health, which operates numerous hospitals in western Washington. Some patients are in critical conditions, a spokesman said.
The scene was a jumble of derailed train cars and at least two crushed vehicles that were passing on the highway below. At least one car from the train ended up under the bridge, perhaps indicative of the fact the train was traveling at about 80 miles per hour. Another train car dangled from the bridge, piercing the roof of the train car beneath the bridge. One of the two train engines was spun around on Interstate 5 below the bridge, at least three other cars were clear of the track bed, and two derailed cars remained on the rail bed.
Though authorities said no one died on the highway, at least five passenger cars and two tractor trailers were badly damaged. One truck, pulling an orange freight container had part of its cab crushed.
Chris Karnes, a passenger, said the train was approaching a curve before it came off the tracks.
“It seemed like we were reaching sort of a bend in the tracks and all of a sudden we were slammed into the seats in front of us,” he told CBS News. “And then the car careened down an embankment and came to a stop. After that happened we could hear and feel the cars crumpling and breaking apart.”
Karnes, who was in a car toward the front of the train, said he and other passengers had to kick out a window to get out. Passengers had visible injuries – “cuts, people bleeding,” he said. “I did see one person who was laying on the ground and not moving.”
He said military police, firefighters and medics flooded the scene. In his rail car, he said the passenger load was “relatively light.” But authorities said some of the cars derailed in the woods and rescuers were using chain saws to get to passengers.
The cause of the derailment was unclear, but the train was entering a curve as it made its way south from Seattle to Portland, Oregon. Though the train had been tested on the track, owned by Seattle’s Sound Transit system, Monday’s run was the first time it made the trip with a full load of 78 passengers and their baggage.
The Washington State Department of Transportation said the Seattle-Portland corridor was equipped with positive train control, which would have slowed a train hurtling into a curve above the posted speed, but that the system was not scheduled to be turned on until next year. Amtrak’s trains have been equipped with the devices, but they communicate with sensors along the track bed that had not been activated.
In a tweet, President Donald Trump said, “My thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in the train accident in DuPont, Washington. Thank you to all of our wonderful First Responders who are on the scene. We are currently monitoring here at the White House.”
He also added via Twitter: “The train accident that just occurred in DuPont, WA shows more than ever why our soon to be submitted infrastructure plan must be approved quickly. Seven trillion dollars spent in the Middle East while our roads, bridges, tunnels, railways (and more) crumble! Not for long!”
The engine of the train apparently stayed on the tracks, but at least two cars crashed to the highway below. Another car was left dangling from the bridge with the lower end thrust into the roof of another train car.
Those who died were believed to be on the train and not on the highway. Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, said the highway will be closed for a long period, calling it a “pretty horrific” crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to investigate the cause of the derailment, NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss said, and the Federal Railroad Administration will send investigators to join them. A briefing was scheduled for Monday afternoon in Washington.
“Several of our investigators will be on the scene this afternoon,” said NTSB member Bella Dinh-Zarr.
A state police spokeswoman told media at the scene that people should stay away from the area. The southbound lanes of I-5 will be closed for the rest of the day and closures could extend to a few days. The investigation on the highway could last a few days, she said.
State police are providing resources and getting supplies to the scene, the spokeswoman said.
Gov. Jay Inslee said on Twitter: “Today’s tragic incident in Pierce County is a serious and ongoing emergency. Trudi and I are holding in our hearts everyone on board, and are praying for the many injured.”
“They are our top priority, and I know first responders are doing everything to ensure everyone has the care they need,” Inslee said. “Everyone should avoid traveling I-5, and WSDOT is working to open alternative routes through the area during the emergency response. This morning I spoke with my cabinet officials, and we are in touch with Amtrak who we know are working to provide as much information as possible.”
“This catastrophic derailment is horrific,” Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said.
The train is a new line for Amtrak, running from Seattle to Portland, and is meant to cut the travel time between those cities.
The Amtrak Cascades service that launched Monday is part of an expansion of Amtrak intercity passenger rail service that includes station upgrades and expansions and the addition of new locomotives. The project is an investment of nearly $800 million in federally funded passenger rail service improvements, according to information from the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Washington and Oregon jointly operate the Amtrak Cascades intercity passenger service. The trains share the tracks with freight trains and travel at top speeds of 79 mph, according to the project’s highlights. The new service would save 10 minutes in travel time between Seattle to Portland.
More than 60,000 vehicles a day use that area of southbound I-5, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Troyer told Q13 Fox News that there are fatalities and that the property damage is “catastrophic.” He said first responders are “in the woods, using chain saws” trying to get to people. He couldn’t confirm the number of injured or dead.
“A lot of things need to be done before anyone can confirm any numbers,” he said.
The Amtrak Cascades train has daily service between Seattle and Portland, departing from Seattle at 6 a.m. local time. Amtrak’s train status says “status currently unavailable due to a service disruption. Call 1-800-USA-RAIL for more information.”
From Left: James Woodward, Governor Roy Cooper, Philip Freelon, Margaret Bauer, Jane Smith Patterson, Loretta Lynch, R.K.M. Jayanty, NC Dept. of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Susi Hamilton (Courtesy: rti.org)
NEW YORK – Indian American chemist R. K. M. Jayanty was honored with the 2017 North Carolina Award, presented to him by the Governor of North Carolina Roy Cooper, for his work in air pollution monitoring and control.
“Dr. Jay’s research has impacted the lives of countless numbers of people in North Carolina and around the world. His dedication to improving the human condition through research into one of the world’s most challenging problems – pollution in the air we breathe – coupled with his commitment to RTI over nearly four decades, has made an incalculable contribution to our scientific stature,” said RTI President and CEO Wayne Holden.
Jayanty received advanced degrees in chemistry and engineering from Andhra University in India, the University of Bradford in England and Pennsylvania State University, he then took the position of chemist position at RTI in 1978 and has since risen to the position of Distinguished Fellow.
Jayanty has significantly advanced the state-of-the art measurement of toxic pollutants in multimedia environments for over 35 years now and his work has enabled the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory agencies to meet important regulatory goals, providing the scientific basis for international adoption of these methodologies for use in pollution-control programs and protected human health and the environment.
His research data on fine particulate matter and volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere are used worldwide to determine compliance and enforcement strategies with the national ambient air quality standards and to develop control strategies.
He has also published more than 150 journal articles and presentations as well as several book chapters and has been awarded by the American Chemical Society in 2000, the Southern Chemist Award in 2012, the Life Achievement Award for the Institute of Environmental Practices in 2010, the prestigious Frank A. Chambers Award for his contributions to the science and art of air pollution control in 1991 and the 1996 North Carolina Distinguished Chemist Award for his service to society.
The North Carolina Awards are the state’s highest recognition and have been presented annually since 1964.
As if the winter holidays are not enough stress, between making your gift list, shopping for gifts and deciding which party to attend, some of us add holiday travel to our to-do lists. Immediately following the decision to visit relative or friends for the holidays comes the big question — what food to bring to the party? Just the thought of all of this can be stressful, but don’t worry here is some food safety traveling advice.
The first step to make traveling with food safe and memorable while avoiding the risk of foodborne illness is to plan ahead. Get to know your food options for better decision making:
“Shelf stable” foods can be safely stored at room temperature; such as fruit cakes, country hams or canned cranberry sauce. However, not all canned goods are shelf stable. Some canned food, such as canned ham and seafood, are not safe at room temperature. These will be labeled “Keep Refrigerated.”
If you are traveling with perishable foods (those likely to spoil or become unsafe if not kept refrigerated at 40°F or below), place them in a cooler with ice or freezer packs. Examples of foods that must be kept refrigerated for safety include meat, poultry, fish, dairy products and all cooked foods. Have plenty of ice or frozen gel packs on hand before starting to pack the food. If you take perishable foods along for eating while traveling, or to cook at your destination, plan to keep everything on ice in your cooler.
The second step to traveling with food is to pack properly so it will be safe to eat when you reach your destination. Always remember to bring an appliance thermometer to check the temperature inside the cooler when you reach your destination. When packing perishable food:
Pack directly from the refrigerator or freezer into the portable cooler. Meat and poultry may be packed while it is still frozen; that way it stays colder longer (40°F or below). Also, a full cooler will maintain its cold temperature longer than one that is partially filled. If the cooler is only partially filled, pack the remaining space with more ice or frozen gel packs. Be sure to keep raw meat and poultry wrapped separately from cooked foods, or ready-to-eat foods, such as fruits or bread. Limit the times the cooler is opened to keep it colder longer. Open and close the cooler lid quickly, but only open it when necessary.
If you are traveling with hot foods, you can use an insulated container to keep the food hot. Fill the container with boiling water, let stand for a few minutes, empty and then put in the piping hot food. Keep the insulated container closed to keep the food hot — 140°F or above.
We hope this food safety traveling guidance will ease your holiday travel and you can find the silver lining to avoid any foodborne illnesses — the ultimate holiday gift.
Consumers with questions about food safety can call the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline at 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) or chat live with a food safety specialist in English or Spanish at AskKaren.gov, available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. AskKaren provides live chats as well as food safety information 24/7.
Speakers and volunteers Photo By: Kamaljit Singh Virdi
The Sikh Religious Society in Palatine, Illinois along with North West Suburbs Organizing For Action (NWSOFA), a local community organization, recently held an interfaith prayer service and candlelight vigil for the 20 elementary school children and 6 teachers who were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Dec. 14, 2012.
About 100 members of various faith groups and local leaders gathered at the Sikh Gurdwara to join in this event that was a part of a nationwide effort to #EndGunViolence.
It has been five years since the tragic incident at Sandy Hook and since then 150,000 people have been killed by gun violence, a press release from organizers said.
The vigil started indoors with a Kirtan in the langar hall of the Palatine Gurdwara.
The hymns were translated in English and meant, “O’ Lord of this universe, please nourish and take care of all the people of your Creation with your blessings and mercy.”
Eight speakers shared their personal stories, faith perspectives of hope and peace and emphasized solidarity and strength in opposing gun violence where innocent lives are lost.
A moment of silence to honor the victims Photo By: Kamaljit Singh Virdi
They reminded the audience that gun violence impacts every community and all religions, races and ages.
Those present at the gathering included Surinder Kaur Singh of the Sikh Religious Society; Laddi Singh; Illinois State Senator Tom Rooney; Professor Kulwant Singh Hundal, former president of the Sikh Religious Society in Palatine; Raja-ullah Quaraishi of the Muslim community; Rabbi Stephen Hart of Temple Chai in Long Grove, IL; Gurleen Kaur Singh a high school student; Pastor Melissa Earley of First United Methodist Church of Arlington Heights, IL; Patrick Watson representing NWSOFA; Maria Pike, #Everytown Fellow and Survivor Engagement Lead, IL; Surinder Kaur Singh, a social worker; Brently Donaldson, a Bahai; and Asayo Horbe, a Buddhist.
“We must create an America free from senseless Gun Violence where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, at their places of worship, on the street and in the shopping malls,” Rajinder Singh Mago, the co-coordinator of the event is quoted saying in the press release.
Watson read a pledge and urged a call to action to educate lawmakers on the need to bring in stricter gun laws and end senseless gun violence.
The names of the 26 victims were read out with the lighting of candles and a moment of silence was observed to honor them.
Laddi Singh lighting candles with other candles Photo By: Kamaljit Singh Virdi
Venkat Srinivasan, entrepreneur and philanthropist credited with founding eight companies and creating 1,800 jobs, and earning $2 billion in value for shareholders, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the TiE-Boston (The Indus Entrepreneurs) at their 20th black-tie gala attended by the organization’s founding charter members, former presidents and more than 300 guests.
“Venkat embodies the true spirit of TiE by building good companies, empowering employees and entrepreneurs, and giving back to solve big problems and help society at large,” Praveen Tailam, the president of TiE-Boston, is quoted saying in a press release.
“He has been associated with TiE for a long time and has always inspired budding entrepreneurs by investing his time and capital, and is well-respected by fellow charter members for his philanthropic work,” Tailam added.
Srinivasan said he was honored and humbled by the award and praised TiE for inspiring entrepreneurship. “Entrepreneurship is a key solution to society’s many challenges,” said Srinivasan.
“Venkat has charted his own unique course all his life. He broke from traditional entrepreneurial paths and has had a very interesting and remarkable professional journey. He came to the United States from India 35 years ago, to pursue his American dream,” said Santhana Krishnan, a fellow TiE-Boston Charter Member and Managing Partner of Om Ventures.
Thirteen others, including eight entrepreneurs: Anil Agarwal, Veera Anantha, Nilanjana Bhowmik, Neil Chedda, Bhaskar Panigrahi, Ramji Raghavan, Jagat Sisodia and Satish Tadikonda, were awarded with the Entrepreneurial Achievement Award, at the event.
Other awards included – Sekhar Naik, Distinguished Service to Philanthropy; Derek Haas, Health Innovator of the Year; Allis Tweed-Kent, Rising Entrepreneur of the Year; Rishi Bhalerao, Charter Member of the Year; and Arjun Venkatachalam, Volunteer of the Year.
The gala also featured a “Fireside Chat” between Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria and Srinivasan.
According to his bio provided in the press release, Srinivasan has received three professional degrees, written more than 35 research papers, published three books, received seven patents, founded and sold four companies and is currently serving on the boards of six companies and three non-profit organizations.
Srinivasan also recently founded EnglishHelper, KnowYourMeds and AIinGov, all of which are focused on education, health and the public sector respectively.
Srinivasan is the Vice-Chair of the American India Foundation (AIF), a non-profit dedicated to catalyzing social and economic change in India. He is also a Trustee of BUILD, a non-profit organization focusing on entrepreneurship to excite and propel disengaged, low-income students through high school to college success in the U.S. Srinivasan is also a member of the Boston Harbor Now’s Advisory Board.
Indian American Preeti Patel was appointed as the Vice President of Technology at Rauxa in New York.
“Not only does Preeti come to us with years of relevant experience leading digital transformations for brands, but she also has a strong drive and determination to be innovative. Our clients want to win, and Preeti is here to help them do just that,” said Gina Alshuler, President and CEO of Rauxa.
Patel is an industry veteran in the IT, digital and market research industries and has more than 20 years of experience providing technology, vision and strategic leadership to organizations in competitive marketplaces.
Prior to joining Rauxa, Patel was the Senior Director of Technology at digital agency Huge, where she delivered award-winning campaigns, led platform strategy and transformed product development processes for top brands including Thomson Reuters, Verizon, Morgan Stanley and ExxonMobil.
Prior to Huge, Patel also held positions at The Marlin Company and 360i.
Patel is a graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and holds three patents for electronic media communication, creation and distribution systems.
“It’s an exciting time to join the Rauxa team. I’ve been in this industry for more than 20 years, and it’s refreshing to join a female-led management team that’s looking to use data and creativity to answer clients’ business challenges,” said Patel.
