NEW YORK – After pleading guilty to a massive fraud of more than $179 million and trying to flee the country earlier this month, Indian American businessman and hotelier Nik Patel of Florida wanted to buy one of the world’s rarest diamonds using $35 million in “dirty money,” to launder money through Dubai bank accounts and seek help from lawyers and consultants from around the world, according to a new report logged by the FBI on Friday, Jan. 26.
According to an Orlando Sentinel report, the agents, who stopped Patel on Jan. 6 at Kissimmee Gateway Airport, said that he was carrying an outline of his plan showing that “buying diamonds was the best method of laundering money.”
The contents of the outline were filed as evidence to deny further bond for Patel.
“This is the cleanest way to do the transaction, kill any trace, and cover everyone. Legit stones are being bought, and the ‘trace’ ends there. Francesca did nothing wrong by buying the stone for the ‘client’ and neither did the person selling the stone,” stated the outline that feds attribute to Patel.
According to the Orlando Sentinel report, other details outlined in the documents filed Friday said that Patel had many things awaiting him in Ecuador such as luxury cars which valued at $500,000, a bag of some kind of white powder that was seized at the airport, luxury watches, $20,000 in cash and eight cell phones at his home.
According to the Orlando Sentinel report, before his alleged flight attempt, Patel had been on bonded release for years as he was originally arrested in September 2014, he will now be sentenced for the original loan fraud worth $179 and the attempt to flee the country, on March 5.
Federal authorities alleged that Patel was with Orlando businessman Kevin Timirchand at the Kissimmee airport, and that both men were planning to move to Ecuador and set up a business there.
“Patel stated that Timirchand made the arrangements for the charter flight, and Timirchand was holding the approximately $20,000 in currency they were traveling with,” the federal court filing said.
According to the authorities, Patel had arranged for his family to fly to Ecuador the day after he fled and since they did, Patel recently told the court that they would provide money for his bond.
The documents filed Friday by U.S. Attorney’s office also indicate Patel had a network of banks set up to receive funds, including a “middle-man bank,” a “beneficiary bank” and a “final beneficiary bank.”
According to an earlier News India Times report, Patel was the owner of First Farmers Financial and was buying hotels in Orlando and other cities and was also invested in restaurants.
According to an Orlando Sentinel report, Patel had tried to sell $179 million in fraudulent loans, saying they were backed by the USDA when they weren’t, court investigators have already recovered about $100 million from the sale of hotels and homes though he has created much more damage.
President and Chief Executive Officer of Adobe Systems Incorporated Shantanu Narayen speaks at the Research in Motion Blackberry developers conference in San Francisco, California September 27, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith
NEW YORK – Indian American CEO of Adobe, Shantanu Narayen, has been elected as the Vice Chairman of the U.S.-India Strategic and Partnership Forum.
The U.S.-India Strategic and Partnership Forum is a new organization that has been set up to enhance business relations between India and the U.S.
“The U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) was set up to promote bilateral trade and work on creating meaningful opportunities that have the power to change the lives of citizens,” said the USISPF, in a statement.
Other members who have joined the Washington-based advocacy group of the USISPF include former CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, chairman and managing director of Spice Jet Ltd. Ajay Singh and senior vice president of Supply Chain Operations at Cisco John Kern, adding up to 31 board members.
“Strong strategic ties between the US and India have never been more important than they are today. The USISPF has emerged as a powerful force in the US- India strategic partnership,” Narayen told PTI.
“India is at a pivotal time in this relationship, with the United States recognizing India as ‘a leading power’ in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” Singh told the PTI, adding that he looks forward to promoting this powerful partnership through his work with the forum.
Kern told PTI that India is an incredible country for Cisco as it represents an emerging economy with a great growth opportunity along with world-class talent and an integral part of our global supply chain.
“I look forward to building the US-India relationship through my work at Cisco and in my work at USISPF,” Kern told PTI.
Petraeus is currently the chairman of the KKR Global Institute, he was previously the Director of the CIA and commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A), U.S. Central Command and the Multinational Force in Iraq during the surge developments.
“We are excited to welcome these three important leaders to our board. They will add great value to the work that the USISPF board and staff is already doing with regards to trade, supply chain management and defense work,” Mukesh Aghi, president of the USISPF, said, in a statement.
After successfully working with some of the leading travel and visa outsourcing companies of the world for more than a decade, Ranjeet Singh (CEO), along with his core team have launched The Ultimate Travel & Visa Company in order to take the travel and consular service experience to an all new level.
“Our aim is to bring Indian Americans and other travelers out of the traditional guidebook and online travel mode, and make them “explore” the world in its true form”, said Ranjeet.
“We also want to have our people experience a flawless and smooth consular service experience”, he added.
The team at The Ultimate consists of some very well-traveled professionals with a combined experience of over 25 years, handling a high volume of clients both in the travel and visa industries.
With a satisfied client base of over 5000 travelers from 3 different continents, The Ultimate executives have personally traveled and lead many successful trips in various regions of the world including India, Africa, South East Asia, Europe, The Americas and Australia/NZ.
The company’s consular service section is led by some very highly skilled executives who have had first hand experience of dealing with thousands of VISA/OCI applications in daily volumes. In the past, the company has worked closely with diplomatic missions on several international projects, which not only gives them an edge above the rest, but also makes them a reliable and trustworthy partner who knows the ins and outs of the whole process.
The Ultimate Travel & Visa Company claims to show you your destination from a whole new perspective that takes you away from the typical well-trodden tourist track. Customers will have the chance to meet, dine and get close to the cultures they are traveling to, along with other like-minded explorers with unique and ultimate twists.
From family trips to holidays for solo travelers; motor cycle tours to wildlife safaris; trekking mountains or exploring miles of scenic coastline; self-guided holidays or small group trips; there is something for every kind of traveler with The Ultimate. They will provide their expert knowledge, exciting itineraries and outstanding service as part of their sustainable travel experiences which take travelers under the skin of the country they’re visiting for the adventure of a lifetime.
They assure customers that traveling the globe and availing VISA’s/OCI’s was never so much fun and exciting!
NEW YORK – Indian American Kamil Patel, 29, was shot and killed on Miami Beach, while he and his girlfriend Katy Park were walking down an alley called Collins Court, just south of Española Way, into a karaoke bar, just before midnight Thursday, according a Miami Herald report.
Police are now searching for the gunman and have asked the community to help for a $13,000 reward, for clues leading to arrest of the culprit(s).
“We are appealing to all of your viewers to help us and there is now a $13,000 reward that we have accumulated. That’s $3,000 from Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers and $5,000 from Miami Beach police and an additional $5,000 from Prada, where the victim worked,” Miami Beach Police Chief Daniel Oates told CBSMiami.
“We’re hoping that will lead to some tips in this case. This is not the sort of thing that happens on Miami Beach,” he added.
Nasir Mahmud, Patel’s uncle, told CBSMiami that he hopes the new reward will help.
“We want to encourage people to come forward. That is so important. For whatever reason this happened, I do not understand. I do not understand this. Why would they do this? Why would they do such a thing? There are so many guns in young people’s hands. My nephew was a hard working good person and he did not deserve this. He loved his family and worked so hard,” Mahmud told CBSMiami over the phone.
According to the CBSMiami report, Patel had just come to South Florida from Dallas, Texas and was the operations manager at the Prada store in Bal Harbor.
Police told CBSMiami that they have released a surveillance video which shows the couple walking down the street near the time of the shooting when all of a sudden, a white four-door Honda Accord with tinted windows turns right onto Collins Court just behind them.
Though the couple and the car are out of view before the shooting, Park told police that the car pulled up to the couple and someone got out of the front passenger seat, shot her boyfriend and got back into the car, according to the Miami Herald.
“It is a 2017 Honda Accord 4-door that was last seen with a Florida tag of CCP 4319. This is chilling video of the couple walking down the street being followed by a car,” Oates said.
Police say that the same vehicle was captured surveillance tape Friday, leaving Espanola Way and turning south on Washington Avenue while moving on the wrong side of the street.
However, Oates revealed that the car actually belongs to “Orestes Marrero who was reported missing by his family” and “that case is being handled by the Miami-Dade Police.”
“We are not going to speculate on the motive for the shooting,” Oates added, but police are looking for a thin black male with medium length dreadlocks.
Anyone with information should call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.
“I want the people who did this to know that there is an army of people, an army of resourced family, friends and co-workers, who will not rest until we find justice for Kamil Patel,” Park wrote on Patel’s GoFundMe page.
According to the Miami Herald, Patel’s family has been raising money through a GoFundMe page which has already made $18,000 with a goal of $20,000.
Park told CBSMiami that Patel’s last words to her were “Katy, keep walking,” in an attempt to protect her before he was shot in the shoulder and the stomach.
According to the Miami Herald, Patel had just picked up Park from the airport and the two went to Mac’s Club Deuce for drinks before heading over to the karaoke bar.
According to the GoFundMe page, a service will be held for Patel on his birthday, Feb. 3, in Buffalo, New York.
NEW YORK – An Indian American man, Christopher Singh, 31, of Frisco, Texas, was stabbed to death on Sunday night at The Luxe 3Eighty apartments in Little Elm, Texas, according to a Denton Record-Chronicle report.
Singh was pronounced dead at about 9:20 p.m. on Sunday at Medical City Denton, according to the medical examiner’s records whish also indicate that he suffered other serious wounds as a result of an argument with his alleged girlfriend or spouse, who too was hospitalized with injuries that night.
Though Troy Taylor, the Denton chief death investigator for the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, has ruled Singh’s death as a homicide, Little Elm police Lt. Larry Denison said that they have not confirmed whether or not the woman had stabbed him.
“I’m not going to say that we even have a suspect. It’s an active investigation,” Taylor told the Denton Record-Chronicle.
According to the Denton Record-Chronicle, the town of Little Elm issued a news release at about 8 a.m. on Monday saying that police responded to a domestic dispute at the apartment complex at around 8:20 p.m. Sunday.
The release further stated that the man had suffered serious injuries which were “apparently as a result of the argument.”
Singh was then treated at Medical City Denton until he was pronounced dead about an hour later while the woman suffered injuries that weren’t life threatening, and was being treated at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton, the press release said.
Richard Singh, Singh’s 27-year-old brother told the Denton Record-Chronicle that the town press release had incorrectly stated that his brother was married to the woman and added that the two had been dating for about two years and lived together in the apartment.
Richard, who lives in Dallas, Texas, told the Denton Record-Chronicle that the woman was the mother of the couple’s 11-month-old son and that Singh also had a 3-year-old son from a previous relationship.
Richard added that in the past, police were informed about the disturbances at his brother’s apartment and another woman who lived in Singh’s building said that she had heard several disputes coming from his apartment as well; however, Denison could not confirm these accounts.
Richard said his family had moved from New York to Texas in 2006 and his brother most recently worked for Service First Mortgage.
“He left behind a mother, a father, a little sister, me. We just moved out here because my parents were trying to make a better life for us … and this is what happened man,” Richard told the Denton Record-Chronicle.
Research shows that individuals of South Asian descent including Asian Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalis, Bangladeshis, and Sri Lankans are at high risk for heart disease, which is partly due to a lack of exercise and a diet that is high in refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats, and low in fresh fruits and vegetables. There are known ways to prevent heart disease and improve people’s diet and physical activity, but South Asians are not benefiting from the science of heart disease prevention. There is a tremendous need for prevention programs that use culturally appropriate strategies to lower heart disease risk in ‘Desi’ population.
Namratha Kandula, MD, MPH and her team at Northwestern University in Chicago have partnered with Metropolitan Asian Family Services, Skokie Health Department and NorthShore University HealthSystem, to deliver and study if a culturally specific healthy lifestyle coaching program improves diet, physical activity, blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, and weight in South Asians. The South Asian Healthy Lifestyle Initiative (SAHELI) will provide nutrition and health education, personalized exercises, stress management strategies, and group support geared to South Asians. Dr. Kandula explained, “Our goal is to develop an effective and sustainable program for combating heart disease in South Asians. This research study can help us develop
personalized prevention for South Asians.”
Recruitment of study participants is expected to begin in Spring 2018. For more information on the study, please call MAFS at 773-465- 3105 Ext. 1032 or Skokie Health Department at 847-933-8252 or Northwestern at 312-503-3309.
Sanjay Bhatnagar, CEO, WaterHealth International, Dr. Arvind Panagariya and the Consul General of India in New York Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty, at the lecture series, at the Consulate premises. Photo courtesy: Dr. Arvind Panagariya.
Former Niti Aayog vice chairman and Professor of Indian economy at Columbia University, Arvind Panagariya, has said that India has the potential to achieve 10 per cent growth rate, but it needs major reforms in labor laws and land acquisition laws.
Speaking at the inaugural “New India” lecture series, launched by the Consulate General of India in New York, Panagariya pointed out that Indian economy grew 7.5 cent in the first three years of the Narendra Modi government, but two major reforms – demonetization and goods and services tax – brought the growth rate down, reported PTI.
“By all accounts, I have no doubt that (India) will get back to eight per cent plus (growth rate). India really today is probably the only game in the town,” Panagariya said at the meet inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a new India by 2022, and initiated by the Consul General of India in New York Sandeep Chakravorty.
Panagariya opined that although China is probably growing at 6-7 per cent but its rate is likely to decline to five in the years to come. He added that India will sustain its high growth rate for the next two decades at least with the current trajectory of reforms, unless it starts to make “mistakes again.”
According to Panagariya, India has got the potential to grow at10%.
“Certainly, there is no doubt that we have got the potential to do 10%,” he said. “For India to achieve the double-digit growth, the country needs major reforms in labor and land acquisition laws. It also needs significant privatization and a major reform of civil service, which is quite not sufficient to handle the large economy that India is now,” Panagariya said.
Panagariya also came down hard on banks in India giving loans without any collaterals.
“It is scandalous. What kind of culture are we promoting? Absolutely unforgivable If one looks at the banks situation, default by the farmers are relatively small. the problems are all coming from large industrialists, but this government is not letting them go. This government is very tough…the Prime Minister is very tough on the corruption issue,” he said.
A Dance performance at the ‘Dance Pe Chance’ competition hosted by the FIA in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on January 27. (Photo By: Paresh Gandhi-FIA)
NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – The Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) of the tristate area (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), celebrated India’s 69th Republic Day with its annual dance competition, “Dance Pe Chance”, at the State Theatre, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, on January 27.
FIA has been celebrating the Republic Day of India for over 40 years now, meticulously promoting the opulent culture and various dance styles of India.
The event started with the American and Indian national anthems. In all, 14 dance schools participated with over 580 Indian origin children in this year’s competition. The audience enjoyed the enthralling and captivating performances of the children in 26 different groups. Apart from the competitive groups, at the request of incoming President of FIA, Srujal Parikh, a group of special needs kids were also invited to show their dancing moves. The all-women’s team of organizers, led by Chairperson Jyoti Brahmbhatt, were commended by Parikh for their hard work in putting up a spectacular show. The FIA’s incoming executive committee of 2018 were administered the oath of office by the Consul General of India in New York, Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty.
Members and guests of the FIA with the Consul General of India in New York Ambassador Sandeep Chakravorty ((6th from left). Also seen in the photo is the President of FIA Srujal Parikh( (4th from right), Padma Shri Dr. Sudhir Parikh, Founder and Chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media (2nd from left), and Padma Shri H R Shah, Founder of TV Asia (far right). (Photo By: Paresh Gandhi-FIA)
Those who took the oath included: Srujal Parikh (President), Alok Kumar (Executive Vice-President), Chhavi Dharayan (Vice President), Daxa Amin (Secretary), Himanshu Bhatia (Treasurer), Haresh Shah (Joint Secretary) and Andy Bhatia (Immediate Past President). Community leaders and dignitaries in attendance included Padma Shri Dr. Sudhir Parikh, the Founder and Chairman of Parikh Worldwide Media, and Padma Shri H R Shah, the Founder of TV Asia. In his address, Chakravorty congratulated FIA for promoting Indian culture through programs like Dance Pe Chance. He also applauded FIA for working towards gender equality and women’s empowerment through leadership.
“I commend the passion and the enthusiasm this kids have for our cultural heritage,” said Srujal Parikh, in his address. He added that FIA will be working towards women empowerment and the concept of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (The World is One Family), while showcasing upcoming events for this year.
One of the many dance performances at the ‘Dance Pe Chance’ meet hosted by the FIA, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Photo By: Paresh Gandhi-FIA)
The 14 dance schools who competed in three categories – minor, junior and senior, included: Aaditi school of dance, Arya dance academy, Aatma performing arts, Aum dance creations, B2Z dance school, Dance4ever, The Dancing Shiva performing arts, Fusion arts, Kavi’s school of dance, Natraj dance studio, Nritya creations academy of dance, Pranavam school of dance, Simply dance and Vedanta dance academy.
Each dance group exhibited an abundance of talent, innovative choreography and unprecedented pride in Indian’s culture. The colorful costumes, song selection, efficient and attractive stage decoration, professional lighting and sound system enhanced the visual impact of the entire show.
One of the many dance performances at the ‘Dance Pe Chance’ meet hosted by the FIA, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Photo By: Paresh Gandhi-FIA)
Judging the event were Aroon Shivdasani, the founder of Indo-American Arts Council, Anindita Soortaal (Odissi dancer and classical vocalist), Neha Multani (Miss India USA 2015), Tadej Brdnik (curator and choreographer), and Obaid Kadwani (actor and director).
FIA honored all the choreographers with certificates and judges with mementos. Winning dance groups were awarded trophy and prize money. The MC for the evening was Mamta Narula. A vote of thanks was given by Alok Kumar.
The top performance overall, in all 3 categories – ‘Best of the Best‘: Atma Performing Arts.
One of the many dance performances at the ‘Dance Pe Chance’ meet hosted by the FIA, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Photo By: Paresh Gandhi-FIA)
Federation of Indian Associations [FIA] Chicago hosted a grand Indian Republic Day Gala replete with colorful celebrations encompassing traditional, patriotic and stunning contemporary dance presentations remarkably depicting the beautiful majestic elements and soul of India that which was enhanced further by the presence of Consul General of India Neeta Bhushan, legendary Sarod maestro & Padma Vibhushan Sri. Amjad Ali Khan along with wife Subhalakshmi and sons Amaan Ali Bangash, Ayaan Ali Bangash – all fused into an extraordinarily memorable Republic Day celebrations on Friday January 26, 2018 at the Meadows Convention Center in Rolling Meadows, IL.
The highlight of the evening’s celebrations was the swearing-in ceremony of the FIA Executive Board: Sanhita Agnihotri as new FIA President with Executive Vice President Pradeep Shukla, Vice Presidents: Harish Kolasani, Secretary: Saloni Dar, Treasurer: Satish Dadepogu, Joint Secretary: Chris Aryan, Joint Treasurer: Raj Patel and host of Directors Yoga Balaji, Vijender Doma, Shafeeq Khaja and Shabana constituting the newly elected board for 2018-2019. Chief Guest Consul General of India.
FIA’s Indian Republic Day Gala dignitaries Consul General of India Neeta Bhushan, Legendary Sarod Maestro Amjad Ali Khan seen with FIA President Sanhita Agnihotri & the new governing executive board including Harish Kolasani, Pradeep Shukla, Saloni Dar, Raj Patel, Shafeeq Khaja, Shabana, Chris Aryan, Satish Dadepogu, Yoga Balaji, VIjender Doma joined by Keerthi Ravoori, Mrs. Malini Air-India Midwest Manager & Minhaj Akhtar. (Photo Courtesy: Asian Media USA)
Neeta Bhushan in her address conveyed her heartfelt Republic Day greetings and congratulated FIA-Chicago for hosting an impressive event in celebration of the Republic of India. Consul General Neeta Bhushan fondly recalled her first attendance at FIA’s Indian Republic Day event in 2017 as the Chief Guest and said she is pleased to be in attendance again in 2018. Legendary Sarod Maestro & Padma VIbhushan Amjad Ali Khan extended warm greetings on the occasion of India’s Republic Day event.
FIA President Sanhita Agnihotri in her debut presidential address unveiled bold ambitious plans to steer FIA in a new direction by launching more meaningful program initiatives significant to the Indian American community. She said the new team teeming with renewed sense of aspirational zeal is determined to help lay foundations to take FIA in a new direction to restore its rich and glorious past. FIA President Sanhita Agnihotri waxed eloquence with Hindi couplets and expressly thanked Consul General of India Ms. Neeta Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan Amjad Ali Khan for their valued presence and as a token of appreciation presented silk shawls in demonstrating FIA’s appreciation.
The evening celebrations predominantly encompassed breathtaking dance presentations especially an epic ballet dance presentation facilitated by Harish Kolasani with 32-members dancing in unison and harmony adulating India’s ‘Unity in Diversity’ theme hailing India’s landscape of mountain ranges, vast rivers, dark forests, stream, sandy deserts its colorful diversity of people of all castes, creeds, faiths each complimenting the union of India. This dance was choreographed by Rina Thakur of RinaRockers, Jelena Mitchell of Art Ballet of Conservatory and Shanti Johnson of Yoga Planting. Each dance presentations capturing the spirit and essence of India were stunning and some even breathtaking with each performance amazing the audience eliciting extended applause.
(Photo Courtesy: Asian Media USA)
Keerthi Kumar Ravoori, FIA Trustee urged the guests to pause on this Republic Day to salute the vanguard of freedom fighters who have shown their valor to secure emancipation from the colonial rule and achieve Independence which eventually enabled India to attain its sovereign Democratic Republic. Pradeep Shukla, Executive Vice President and Minhaj Akhtar, FIA Trustee intermittently spoke acknowledging the generous sponsorships and publicly thanked Mr. Iftekhar Shareef, CEO of National Bankcard Corporation, Mrs. Malini, Midwest Manager of Air-India, Mr. Syed Hussaini of Win Trust Bank, Mr. Iftekhar and Bernard of MB Bank were acknowledged for their generous sponsorships.
Dr. Vijay Prabhakar, President of Multi Ethnic Task Force thanked FIA for hosting phenomenal gala in commemoration of India’s Republic and went on to introduce Christ Kennedy Junior. Young Chris Kennedy Jr. [Grandnephew of late John F Kennedy] son of Chris Kennedy spoke at length about his family of leaders who have paved the way laying bridges of enduring friendship between United States and India.
Diversified South Asian Association (DSAA), a not for profit organization founded by Amit Vatal and co-founded by Shabana Rahman, Shafee Baig and Meliha Vatal organized its official launch on January 27 at Bristol Palace, Mount Prospect, IL
DSAA has been founded on the belief that every child has the basic right to education, nutrition, love and care. DSAA started with a common dream shared by its core team members, a common dream of the upliftment and nurture of all the children of human kind.
“We at DSAA firmly believe that each child has the potential to becoming a responsible part of society and can make a difference in their own lives, their families and it starts with making the difference with one child at a time”, said Amit Vatal, President DSAA.
DSAA, through its efforts wishes to create opportunities for children to have a bright, healthy and safe future and help every child live a happy, healthy, disease – free, full of nutrition life and encompassing physical and emotion well-being.
From Left to right: Sunita Latamba, Shafee Baig, Amit Vatal, Shabana Rahman, Anshul Bindal, Prachi Jaitly and Abhi Trivedi. (Photo By: Asian Media USA)
It aims to focus on providing opportunities for education and skill development to kids, aide in providing them food and nutritious diet, arranging medical Camps and other related activities.
The association has Amit Vatal as its President, Shafee Baig and Anshul Bindal as Vice President, Shabana Rahman as Treasurer and Prachi Jaitly as Secretary.
The board of directors includes Meliha Vatal, Abir Maru, Geetanjali Maru, Abhi Trivedi, Sunita Latamba, Chandrashekhar Reddy and Tariq Khan.
DSAA will be hosting its first fundraising event on February 9 at Monty’s Elegant Banquets and all the proceeds will go to Sankar Netralaya to help kids’ cataract surgeries. “It takes $65 dollars to support one cataract surgery. Join us this Valentine with a commitment that will go long way in bringing light to these children’s eyes for as little as $65 you can help pay for a surgery for a child who’s waiting now.
That’s one life changed, entirely because of you”, said Shaban Rahman Co-founder DSAA.
BEIJING – China raised alarms Wednesday over what it called President Donald Trump’s “outdated Cold War mentality” after an address that described Beijing as a global rival and set an increasing tough line against China’s economic and military reach.
The president’s language in his State of the Union address represented a fundamental reappraisal of the U.S. relationship with China – one that has been building for years but has crystallized since Trump took office last year, experts say.
Engagement – long accepted as the path to a safer world and a freer China – has been replaced with a chillier sense of strategic competition with the United States.
On Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry called on the United States to abandon its “outdated Cold War mentality,” manage its differences with Beijing and realize that “win-win” cooperation was the only viable option.
A Chinese foreign policy scholar called Trump’s language “alarming and provocative,” while state media warned that “malicious rivalry” and further enhancement of American military might would only end in disaster.
But Trump’s language didn’t come as a surprise in China.
Despite a state visit last November where Trump gushed about his lavish welcome and his bond with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, his administration has repeatedly signaled in recent weeks a new cynicism about China’s role in the world and the threat it represents.
“The idea of engagement has underpinned the U.S.-China relationship for decades,” Bill Bishop wrote in his Axios China newsletter. “Now the U.S. government appears to have declared engagement has failed.”
The change was spelled out most clearly by the White House in its National Security Strategy last month.
“For decades, U.S. policy was rooted in the belief that support for China’s rise and for its integration into the postwar international order would liberalize China,” it wrote. “Contrary to our hopes, China expanded its power at the expense of the sovereignty of others.”
Among the complaints: China gathers and exploits data on an unrivaled scale, and that it spreads features of its authoritarian system around the globe, including corruption and the use of surveillance. At the same time, Chine is building the most capable and well-funded military in the world, after that of the United States.
In its National Defense Strategy released earlier this month, the Pentagon argued that “the central challenge to U.S. prosperity and security is the reemergence of long-term, strategic competition” by “revisionist” powers.
“It is increasingly clear that China and Russia want to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model – gaining veto authority over other nations’ economic, diplomatic, and security decisions,” it wrote.
Specifically, it called China a “strategic competitor” using predatory economics to intimidate its neighbors while militarizing the South China Sea, a region where China claims full soverneinty despite strong opposition from the United States and its Southeast Asian allies.
And in a significant reevaluation of the economic relationship, the U.S. Trade Representative even argued that it was a mistake to support China’s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, “on terms that have proven to be ineffective in securing China’s embrace of an open, market oriented trade regime.”
Daniel Rosen of the Rhodium Group, long a leading advocate of engagement with China, calls it a “fundamental sea change in perceptions of U.S. interests.”
Frustration with China for not opening its markets further to foreign firms has been building for a while, and the idea that its WTO entry might not have been well handled has been the subject of dinner party debate even among executives from multinational companies here for the past year.
It has been further fueled by the feeling that China is walling itself off from the global Internet and trying to control cross-border data flows on which businesses depend.
Domestically, Chinese President Xi has buried the idea that a more prosperous China would ultimately become a more liberal, freer China: he has ruthlessly used the power of the state to step up surveillance, and crack down on civil society, the legal profession and any hint of dissent.
Abroad, Xi makes no secret of his desire for China’s voice to be heard more clearly on the world stage: his assertion of maritime territorial claims in the South China Sea, his ambition to spread Chinese influence through his global Belt and Road investment are just two examples of a more confident, assertive nation.
But the shift in Chinese attitudes also predates Xi, and can be traced back to the Western financial crisis a decade ago, experts say.
Ever since then, the Communist Party has grown in the belief that its economic system offered a better model than that of the West, with markets allocating some resources but the party ultimately in control of the economy.
For years, engagement had made sense, Rosen argued in a recent essay: China had been gradually converging with Western norms, in its embrace of private enterprise, market forces and foreign businesses, and in its withdrawal of the state from the economy.
But those trends have now stalled, or gone into reverse.
Enter Trump, a president singularly obsessed with the U.S. trade deficit with China, and numbering among his advisers men such as economist Peter Navarro and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who have long warned of the threat from Beijing.
Andrew Polk, a partner at Trivium China, a research firm, says the rethinking of engagement has been a structural trend, “but the conversation has been put on steroids under Trump.”
Nor is it a conversation only being heard in Washington: in Germany, there are growing concerns about China’s attempts to divide and conquer the European Union by wooing its poorer nations. In Australia, there are widely expressed fears of Chinese interference.
So far, Trump hasn’t really translated his words into action, partly he says because he is seeking Chinese help in isolating North Korea.
But he has imposed tariffs on solar panels and washing machines this month, while expected action over intellectual property theft and over steel and aluminum imports have left many here worried about the prospect of a trade war.
The possibility of U.S. military action against North Korea, China’s neighbor and traditional ally, could lead to a more troubling confrontation between the world’s most powerful nations.
Rosen wrote that the shift will lead to stepped-up confrontation over trade and investment, but warned that it will also make it harder for the two powers to cooperate in areas where they need to find common ground, whether over North Korea or over the environment and climate change.
“This shift in US-China relations is a serious concern,” he wrote. “In a relationship predicated not on the expectation of convergence but of rivalry and competition, opportunities for cooperation will be missed.”
A North Korean flag flies on a mast at the Permanent Mission of North Korea in Geneva October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/Files
The U.S. military is confident it could destroy “most” of the infrastructure underpinning North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s nuclear missile program if necessary in a favorable scenario, a top American general said Tuesday.
Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the U.S. military could “get at most of his infrastructure” when asked about Kim’s nuclear missile program, but he declined to specify the percentage of North Korean missiles U.S. forces could dismantle in the event of any military action.
His comments indicate that the United States possesses enough information to target not only North Korea’s missiles but also the support facilities that allow a launch in a potential attack on the United States.
“Remember, missile infrastructure is not just the missiles,” Selva said at a roundtable with journalists in Washington. “If you’re the poor sergeant that has to go out and launch the missile, and I blow up your barracks, you’re not available to go do your job.”
North Korea has been advancing rapidly toward the possession of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could land a nuclear warhead on the continental United States, posing one of the most critical national security threats the Trump administration faces.
Pyongyang conducted its first ICBM test in July and tested two more by the end of last year. The country also tested in September a nuclear weapon that a top U.S. general later said he assumed was a hydrogen bomb.
Despite the significant strides, North Korea has not yet successfully tested all the components necessary to show the world it possesses an ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to a target in the U.S. mainland, Selva said.
Kim’s tests have shown that his missiles can travel far enough to reach the United States and maneuver stably in the right direction, according to Selva. But the North Korean leader has yet to demonstrate a “terminal guidance system” that allows for the specific targeting of the missile and a “reentry vehicle” capable of withstanding the stress and shock that comes with carrying a nuclear warhead back through the Earth’s atmosphere to a target, the general said.
Selva did not rule out that North Korea already possesses those technologies but said the country has not demonstrated them.
“It is possible, although I think unlikely, that he has found a way to do the test without us knowing,” Selva said. “But I can’t envision what that test would look like, where he would be convinced that he has those components at a reliable-enough level of performance to declare that he’s ready.”
CIA Director Mike Pompeo said in an interview Monday with the BBC that the United States and its intelligence partners have developed a pretty good understanding of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.
“We talk about him having the ability to deliver a nuclear weapon to the United States in a matter of a handful of months,” Pompeo said.
The United States has been stepping up pressure on North Korea through sanctions with the hope of bringing Kim into negotiations about dismantling his nuclear program. The North Korean leader has rejected the idea.
Russia and China have proposed a “freeze for freeze,” whereby the United States and its regional allies would stop military drills in exchange for a halt on North Korea’s tests.
The Trump administration, however, has rebuffed any such proposal. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Jan. 16 in Vancouver that Washington rejected such an approach because it falsely equates legitimate defensive military actions by the United States and its allies with unlawful actions by North Korea.
Asked about the possibility of pursuing a “freeze for freeze,” Selva said the decision was up to the U.S. officials leading diplomacy with North Korea.
“I’m not in charge of the diplomatic effort,” Selva said. But he added that the current situation – in which North Korea has not yet crossed the finish line in its quest – presented “an opening to have that conversation.”
Selva declined to rule out the possibility of a preemptive strike on North Korea’s weapons facilities but suggested that preemption is not generally how the U.S. has approached nuclear-armed adversaries.
“We don’t do preemption,” Selva said. “Our method of warfare: If they launch one, then game on. But preemption is not something we do as a matter of course.”
UNHCR Special Envoy actor Angelina Jolie takes part in a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, January 31, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman
BRUSSELS – U.N. refugee agency special envoy Angelina Jolie called on NATO on Wednesday to help stop the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, as the Hollywood star broadened her international efforts to protect women’s rights.
Jolie, who earlier this week visited a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan, made her appeal to the U.S.-led alliance’s top decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, in Brussels, and later met NATO military commanders.
“Violence against women and children, particularly sexual violence, is an increasing feature of conflict,” Jolie told a news conference at NATO headquarters alongside the alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
“This is rape used as a weapon to achieve military or political goals. It affects men and boys as well as women and girls,” Jolie said.
NATO, which counts 29 members and has missions from Kosovo to Afghanistan, has agreed to help report on sexual violence in war to help bring perpetrators to justice and challenge the idea that rape is an unavoidable aspect of conflict.
Jolie, a mother of six who last year released her film “First They Killed My Father” about Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s, said she had met victims of sexual violence in conflict and was trying to be a voice for them.
Expressing frustration at the lack of assistance available to victims, Jolie said she hoped that NATO could help by raising standards in other militaries through its training programmes abroad, as well as promoting the role of women in the military.
Jolie singled out the plight of Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar and what she said was the inadequate response of many governments around the world.
“I’m very concerned about the Rohingya, I’m very angry at the response … I’m very concerned about the stories of the 10-year old girls being raped,” she said.
“We should all hang our head on how little we have been able to do,” she added.
With some 65 million people forced from their homes by conflict as of the end of 2016, Jolie said the sheer scale of the refugee crisis worldwide felt overwhelming.
Tandoori Chicken. CREDIT: Photo by Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post.
No one knows how many Indian restaurants exist worldwide; reportedly there are more than 5,000 in the United States alone. The exact number depends on how you define “Indian” and “restaurant.”
And most of them – from a little mom-and-pop shop on the corner to the Michelin-starred Junoon in New York City – serve many of the same dishes, the standard repertoire that diners have come to expect. The menu just isn’t complete unless it contains skewered chicken tandoori in all its chile-hot, bright red glory, and butter chicken with its rich sauce in which to dip your naan.
“My grandfather invented both,” says Monish Gujral, 52, sitting in his family’s flagship restaurant, Moti Mahal, in the middle of India’s capital, Delhi. “In fact, I often think that it is hard to imagine Indian food today without my grandfather’s inventions.” He sounds proud and thoughtful more than boasting.
Most dishes develop gradually, through a combination of natural conditions, slow adaptation of tradition and the occasional innovative twist. You’d be hard-pressed to say when the dishes we today know as boeuf bourguignon and spaghetti Bolognese were invented; they just gradually came to be, as regional dishes promoted by a collective of home cooks.
But according to Gujral – and millions of Indians who have grown up with this story – tandoori chicken was invented in one sudden flash of inspiration by Gujral’s grandfather Kundan Lal.
Lal grew up in a poor family in what is today Pakistan. He managed to work his way up from kitchen help to the senior cook at a restaurant in Peshawar in the years before independence. One day, in the late 1920s or early 1930s, he was asked to invent a dish that was a little lighter than the traditional, heavy regional specialties that were normally served at parties and other functions and celebrations.
His stroke of genius was this: How about using the tandoor? The cylindrical oven was common in the region, but it was normally used only for breads. “He marinated the chicken in yogurt, lime and spices and baked it in the tandoor. What came out was different than what anyone had ever tasted,” Gujral says.
The dish was a success that made Lal famous far outside his community, and after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, he moved to Delhi and opened Moti Mahal, where tandoori chicken is the signature dish.
To say that the restaurant is an institution is somewhat of an understatement. When the Shah of Iran visited India in the 1950s, he was told that to visit Delhi without eating at Moti Mahal was like visiting Agra without seeing the Taj Mahal. Since then, the place has only grown in significance with the increased interest in Indian food, domestically and globally.
As the inventor of the most popular dish from one of the world’s most populous countries, Lal could just lean back and enjoy the fame, fortune and popularity his invention had brought him and his restaurant. But it was not enough, according to family legend. He also invented what might very well be the second-most-popular Indian dish.
“It was a direct consequence of the chicken tandoori,” Gujral says. “At that time, refrigeration was a big problem. The chicken had to be cooked the moment it arrived from the market. And if it was not eaten immediately, it could get terribly dry.”
So Lal invented a generous sauce, with spices, tomato, butter and cream, into which he placed pieces of tandoori chicken. “And that was the birth of butter chicken,” Gujral says, as both dishes arrive at our table, bright red and aromatic.
And thereby the circle was closed. What started as a request for a lighter, more fresh-tasting dish in a kitchen of many heavy stews became the heaviest and mightiest of them all.
The story of the sudden invention of such an iconic dish seems almost too much to be true. But according to Anubhav Sapra, street food explorer and founder of Delhi Food Walks and an expert on Delhi cooking, there is very little that contradicts it.
“Every mention of cooking chicken in a tandoor that I have seen comes from Peshawar and the North West Frontier Province, which is where Kundan Lal developed his recipe. And I have never seen a mention of tandoori chicken from the time before Kundan Lal. So it is quite probable that he actually invented it.”
Lal is unique in the importance that his culinary invention has had on Indian cuisine. But he was a part of a wider phenomenon, in which cooks from rural regions in what is today Pakistan came to Delhi and brought with them different cuisines, both traditional dishes and their own inventions.
“Take chole bhature – fried bread and chickpeas – a breakfast and lunch dish that is almost as popular as butter chicken, that also comes from Pakistan. But in that case we do not know the name of the person who brought it here,” Sapra says.
And that makes all the difference.
Today, Gujral is the custodian of the family tradition. He knows he will never be able to stop other restaurants from copying his grandfather’s recipes. Instead he has become an ambassador of Indian cuisine at large, with frequent TV appearances and several cookbooks, including “On the Butter Chicken Trail” and “Moti Mahal’s Tandoori Trail.” The Moti Mahal brand has grown to include more than 120 restaurants in India, plus franchises in the Middle East, Africa and New Zealand. The first U.S. restaurant is due to open in Boston in 2018 or 2019.
When Gujral learned that I did not have a tandoor, he offered to give me one; modern-day versions are made from old oil drums clad with clay on the inside; not terribly expensive, but cumbersome to bring home without challenging the airline’s baggage allowance.
Luckily, Gujral feels strongly that the lack of a tandoor should not stop anyone from making tandoori chicken at home. He recommends cooking the chicken at 500 degrees, to achieve some – albeit not all – of the browning and intense heat normally associated with the tandoor (in which the temperature can reach well over 800).
“If you have a decent domestic oven and follow my recipe, the result will be almost as good as the original, and much better than many of the copies you get at other restaurants,” he says.
Making it at home some weeks later, I could not agree more. I only wished I had remembered to turn on the kitchen fan.
Butter Chicken. CREDIT: Photo by Deb Lindsey for The Washington Post.
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Viestad is a farmer, writer and host of PBS’s “New Scandinavian Cooking.” He lives in Oslo, Norway.
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Tandoori Chicken
4 to 6 servings
This recipe tastes as close as you can get to the flavor of original tandoori chickens – it comes from an impeccable source in restaurateur Monish Gujral, whose grandfather, Kundan Lal, is the alleged inventor of that classic Indian dish. Gujral says cooking at the hottest temperature your oven can muster (500 or even 600 degrees) is key. Remember to use a good kitchen fan, or to keep your windows open, because there will be smoke.
It’s best to use metal skewers for this, or be sure to soak bamboo skewers for 30 minutes before using.
The tandoori chicken served at Gujral’s Moti Mahal restaurant is made with a whole butterflied chicken, but Gujral recommends using pieces of boneless chicken the first few times you make the dish at home.
Serve with rice or naan, raita and a good-quality Indian chutney.
MAKE AHEAD: The chicken needs to marinate for 1 hour, and then for 3 hours (in the refrigerator).
Kashmiri chile powder is bright-tasting and lends a beautiful color to this dish; you can find it at Indian markets or substitute a blend of paprika and cayenne pepper.
Adapted from India restaurateur Monish Gujral.
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks (light and dark meat; see headnote)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder (or substitute 1/2 teaspoon each paprika and cayenne pepper; see headnote)
6 tablespoons plain, full-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon peeled, minced fresh ginger root
2 teaspoons garam masala, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek, or more as needed
Vegetable oil, for basting
Steps
Use a sharp knife to make shallow cuts in the thickest part of the chicken.
Combine the lime juice and salt in a bowl large enough to hold all the chicken pieces; add the chicken and toss to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Uncover; add the chile powder, yogurt, garlic, ginger, garam masala and fenugreek, tossing well to coat and distribute evenly. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Thread the chicken pieces onto skewers, season with a little more garam masala or fenugreek, if desired. Roast (middle rack) for 5 to 6 minutes. Baste with a little oil and continue roasting for 3 to 4 minutes.
Check if the chicken is done by cutting into one of the larger pieces. If it is still pink in the middle, roast for another 3 to 5 minutes and check again.
Nutrition | Per serving (based on 6, using half white and dark meat and 1 tablespoons canola oil): 190 calories, 25 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 9 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 85 mg cholesterol, 370 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 0 g sugar
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Butter Chicken
4 to 6 servings (makes 4 cups)
This is classic dish is often referred to as murgh makhani; here, the point is to smother good grilled chicken in a rich sauce. The dish was created as a way to keep cooked/leftover tandoori chicken from drying out.
In case you have not already made Tandoori Chicken (see related recipe), this recipe includes simple instructions for cooking the chicken. The result is not as good as if you make the proper Tandoori Chicken first, but it is simpler.
Serve with finely chopped cilantro, chopped green chile peppers, naan, rice and a good Indian chutney.
MAKE AHEAD: The dish tastes even better after a day’s refrigeration; you may need to add a little cream or water to thin the sauce, which will thicken when it’s chilled.
Adapted from India restaurateur Monish Gujral.
Ingredients
For the chicken
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken (white and/or dark meat), cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup plain, full-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger root
For the sauce
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 medium tomatoes, hulled and chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons peeled minced fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon Kashmiri chile powder (may substitute a combination of 2 teaspoons paprika and 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons salted butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
Steps
For the chicken: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with cooking oil spray.
Combine the chicken meat with lime juice, chili powder, garam masala, salt, yogurt, garlic and ginger in a mixing bowl, then spread evenly over the baking sheet. Roast (middle rack) for 15 to 18 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and cook for 2 or 3 minutes, until softened. Stir in the tomato; cook for 10 to 12 minutes.
Use a spatula to press the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer back into the pot, or puree with an immersion (stick) blender right in the pot. Stir in the garlic, ginger, chile powder, garam masala and cumin until well blended, then add the chicken, stirring to coat it with sauce. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, just until heated through.
Just before serving, add the butter. Once it has melted, stir in the cream, until well incorporated. Immediately remove from the heat; serve warm.
Nutrition | Per serving (based on 6, using white meat): 300 calories, 27 g protein, 7 g carbohydrates, 17 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 110 mg cholesterol, 630 mg sodium, 2 g dietary fiber, 4 g sugar
An Air France Airbus A380 lands at Dulles International Airport in Virginia June 6, 2011. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
An Indian American doctor had to make an emergency delivery when a 41-year-old woman went into labor 35,000 feet in the air.
Dr. Sij Hemal, 27, was on an Air France flight from Paris back to New York after attending a friend’s wedding in New Delhi, when he was summoned by crew members who were looking for a medical professional as Toyin Ogundipe, who was traveling with her 4-year-old daughter, began having contractions, according to a Mirror report.
“She was complaining of back pain. At first, I thought it might be kidney stones, but after she told me she was pregnant, I knew she was going into labor,” Hemal told CNN.
“Her contractions were about 10 minutes apart, so the pediatrician and I began to monitor her vital signs and keep her comfortable,” Hemal told the Mirror.
Within an hour though, Ogundipe’s contractions accelerated and they occurred every seven, five and finally two minutes apart, “that’s when we knew we were going to deliver on the plane,” Hemal told the Mirror.
In the meantime Hemal had insisted that the flight continue onto JFK International Airport as they were only four hours away and an emergency landing would have required a two-hour diversion to a U.S. military base in the Azores Islands, but instead, the crew moved Ogundipe to first class, which had fewer passengers and more space, according to CNN,
The doctors used instruments and supplies in the flight’s scant medical kit to routinely check Ogundipe’s vital signs, including blood pressure, oxygen rate and pulse.
After safely delivering the baby boy, Hemal even tied the umbilical cord with a makeshift surgical clamp and a shoe string.
Hemal is a second-year urology resident at Cleveland Clinic’s Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute and has previously delivered seven babies while in medical school.
Both mother and son were sent off to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center upon landing.
Hemal told CNN that before the call, he was planning on watching the movie “Side Effects” while drinking a glass of champagne and going off to sleep as he was tired from a full day of travel and still had to take a connecting flight to Cleveland, Ohio upon reaching JFK International Airport.
“I was pretty tired from jet lag. I thought I’d just have a drink and fall asleep. As it turned out, I’m glad I didn’t drink anything,” Hemal told the Mirror.
The Shri Sankat Mochan Hanuman Mandir in Glen Oaks, New York, celebrated the 69th Republic Day of India, on Friday, Jan. 26.
Program started with a warm welcome by Indu Gajwani, which after both the American and Indian National Anthems were sung by all.
The cultural program featured performances on patriotic songs by Mandir volunteers including: Vandana Kumar, Jyoti Gupta, Ram Kriplani, Amita Karwal, Divyesh Tripathi, Balaji Naagraj, Rajesh Pandya and Soni, along with students from Dance Rhythm School Krishna Arts and Hamsassya Dance School.
The performances were choreographed by Shilpa Mithaiwala, Sangeeta Pandit and Hamsini Jamboor.
(Courtesy: India Association of Long Island)
Gunjan Rastogi, the president of India Association of Long Island wished everyone a Happy Republic Day while all of the participants were awarded with a necklace of beads containing a Durga Mata locket, from temple volunteer Girish Bhalla.
The awards were given by Priest Sanjeev Mishra, Krishna Pandit, Umesh Sinha, Kirti Naik, Jagdish Patel, Mansukh Patel and Anita Mohan.
Pt. Mishra wanted to make the program more fun and interactive for the children so they feel more attached to the temple.
The program was graced by about 200 people from Queens and Long Island.
Everyone felt like they are in India and all of the children cut a birthday cake for Pt. Mishra, at the end.
Jitesh Thakkar, the Indian American founder of Loop-based Edge Financial Technologies, was arrested in Illinois on Monday, Jan. 29 and charged with committing commodities fraud through so-called spoofing trades by federal authorities, according to a Chicago Tribune report.
The Chicago Tribune reports that in a criminal complaint, Thakkar, 41, of Naperville, Illinois, is accused of developing a software program that helped an unnamed commodities trader engage in “spoofing,” placing thousands of bids or offers on the E-mini S&P, a market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, with the intent of canceling the trades before they were executed but only after bids were placed on the other side of the market.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission also filed a lawsuit in federal court in Chicago against Thakkar.
According to the Chicago Tribune report, regulators and the Justice Department also said on Monday that they have settled the spoofing allegations against UBS, HSBC and Deutsche Bank.
While Deutsche Bank will pay $30 million in penalty, UBS will pay $15 million in penalty and HSBC will pay $1.6 million in penalty.
The Chicago Tribune also reported that criminal charges have been filed in federal court in Chicago against many others who were involved in the scheme including James Vorley, 37, of the United Kingdom and Cedric Chanu, 39, a French citizen, who are accused of placing orders for gold, silver, platinum or palladium futures contracts on the futures exchange owned by the CME Group; Edward Bases, 55, and John Pacilio, 53, both of Connecticut and based in New York City, who were charged in a criminal complaint with commodities fraud and Jiongsheng Zhao, 30, of Australia, who was charged in a criminal complaint with wire fraud, commodities fraud, making false statements to the CME and spoofing in the e-Mini S&P 500 futures contract market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange from 2012 to 2016.
Indian American Krishna Mohan, 33, of New York City, was also charged in a criminal complaint in Texas in connection with activities while he worked at an unnamed proprietary trading firm in Chicago and Andre Flotron, 53, of Switzerland, was charged in Connecticut, relating to his role as a UBS precious metals trader.
On Jan. 25, President Donald Trump sent the nominations of four people to serve on the Federal Trade Commission which includes one Indian American, Rohit Chopra.
If his nomination is confirmed by the Senate then Chopra, a Democrat, will finish out the term which ends Sept. 25, 2019, of Joshua Wright who resigned.
Chopra has a master’s degree in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate from Harvard University.
He currently serves as a senior fellow at the Consumer Federation of America, focusing on consumer protection issues facing young people and military families.
“Rohit is fair-minded, independent, and committed to a marketplace that works for consumers and honest businesses. He is well-respected by those with all points of view, and his experience and character will be valuable assets in this critical role,” CFA executive director Stephen Brobeck, said in a statement posted on the organization’s website.
Brobeck also noted that Chopra is widely regarded for his expertise in the student loan market as prior to joining CFA, Chopra served as the assistant director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2010 to 2015, where he oversaw the agency’s work on student financial services issues.
During his tenure at the CFPB, the agency obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in refunds and relief for student loan borrowers to address illegal practices at companies like Wells Fargo and Corinthian Colleges, according to a CFA press release.
The CFA press release further stated that while tens of thousands of student loan borrowers have filed complaints to get servicing errors fixed and other help, under a newly established system, Chopra helped develop a Financial Aid Shopping Sheet, which was voluntarily adopted by thousands of colleges and universities, to help students and families make better decisions about student loans.
In 2012, Chopra and his colleague Holly Petraeus issued a report uncovering a student loan overcharging scheme that targeted members of the military.
The report led regulators to charge Sallie Mae and Navient with violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, providing $60 million in refunds for 78,000 servicemembers and veterans.
Chopra also worked with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general to shut down debt relief scams and deceptive lead generators.
“I’m delighted to see Rohit Chopra nominated to serve as an FTC Commissioner. He did stellar work at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, spotlighting abuses that impacted tens of thousands of servicemembers and veterans with student loans. He has continued to work to protect the rights of consumers and borrowers, and I look forward to his future contributions to the work of the FTC,” said Petraeus.
Jacob Lew, the former Secretary of the Treasury also appointed Chopra as the agency’s student loan ombudsman and in 2016, Chopra served as special adviser to John King, the Secretary of Education.
A group of prominent Indian Americans have launched a nationwide campaign to create awareness about the massive backlog for Green Cards, which is impacting about 300,000 high-skilled Indian applicants, according to PTI.
According to the newly-launched group GCReforms.org, under the current regulation, skilled immigrants need to wait anywhere between 25 to 92 years for a Green Card because of country cap.
The country cap for India is 7 percent, according to the Skilled Immigrants In America’s website.
Many Indian Americans shared their thoughts about the Green Card backlog with PTI.
“We not only support the physician groups involved in the immigration issues but also support a fair green card allocation process for engineers and other professionals that are caught up in the quandary,” Sampat Shivangi, the president of GcReforms.org, told PTI.
“I Strongly Support the Cause,” Ved Nanda, a professor at the University of Denver Strum college of law, said in a statement issued by GCReforms.org.
Kiran Kumar Thota, a founding member of the organization, told PTI that these Green Card delays need to be eliminated as it slows down American innovation and job creation.
“Many bright individuals who are hardworking and self- driven are always under stress to keep the same job role,” Rishi Bhutada, the director of the Hindu American Foundation, told PTI.
Jagdish Sharma, the chair of the Indian American Friendship Forum, told PTI that many talented people who work in Fortune 500 companies have been waiting decades for their Green Cards as a result of the huge backlog.
“The contributions of skilled immigrants to America and their issues need better understanding and recognition across America, coming together of the Green Card Reforms is a great initiative in that direction,” Prakash Wadhwa, the creator of the film From The Land Of Gandhi, which focuses on Green Card backlog, Told PTI.
The announcement for the nationwide campaign comes after the White House sent details of its immigration reform to Congress, according to PTI.
Ravi Ragbir, the executive director of the immigrant rights group New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City who was detained for more than two weeks has been released however, still faces potential deportation on Feb. 10, according to AMNewYork.
According to a Washington Post report, U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest said it was unconstitutional and cruel for authorities to “pluck him out of his life without a moment’s notice” adding that he “should have been allowed ‘the freedom to say goodbye’ and to organize his affairs before being taken into custody.”
“It ought not to be — and it has never before been — that those who have lived without incident in this country for years are subjected to treatment we associate with regimes we revile as unjust, regimes where those who have long lived in a country may be taken without notice from streets, home, and work. And sent away,” said Forrest, who read her seven-page opinion aloud in court.
“We are not that country and woe be the day that we become that country under a fiction that laws allow it,” Forrest added.
On Jan. 11, Ragbir appeared for a regular check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after a crackdown on undocumented immigrants was imposed by the Trump administration.
According to several sources, Ragbir came to the United States from Trinidad in 1991 and obtained a green card in 1994.
He was then convicted of wire fraud in 2001 and was detained in 2006 for nearly two years after a judge ordered deportation because of his conviction.
However, he was released as ICE determined that he wasn’t a danger to the community and he got married to Amy Gottileb in 2010 after which according to a Washington Post report, he received work authorization and four stays of removal.
The government’s court papers showed that he checked in regularly with ICE as required but eventually ran out of appeals and received a final order of deportation, according to a Washington Post report.
According to court documents, government attorneys said that they had obtained travel documents for Ragbir from the Consulate of Trinidad and Tobago at the beginning of the year which were valid through Jan. 14, but said that ICE had the final say over Ragbir’s status in the United States since he was already subject to a final removal order.
Though Ragbir and his lawyers believe that he was detained this month because of his advocacy, rather than his prior conviction and even though he wasn’t a threat to society and was brought to a detention center in Miami and only transferred to Orange County, New York, after his legal defense team challenged the move in court, according to AMNewYork.
But ICE denied that it targets individuals based on advocacy stating “any suggestion to the contrary is irresponsible, speculative and inaccurate” and insist that Ragbir has “exhausted his petitions and appeals as he does not have a legal basis to remain in the U.S.,” according to the statement made by ICE.
Ragbir previously spoke out about the harsh comments that President Donald Trump made about immigrants targeting black and brown people.
“When he talks about immigrants . . . it’s about certain immigrants. We need to be defiant and to stop this crazy talk from this administration,” he told AMNewYork.
According to the New York Daily News report, Ragbir and his Gottileb were both invited to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
Gottlieb was invited by Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.) while Ragbir was invited by Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-Brooklyn) after she learned of his release.
The couple was “proud to be here to represent people who are struggling under our current immigration policies,” Gottlieb told the New York Daily News.
“We need to have laws to respect the dignity of every person and the humanity of every person. I am still reeling from all the things that happened in the last 18 days,” Ragbir told the New York Daily News adding that “federal officials under Trump have engaged in ‘psychological warfare’ by targeting him and other activists for detention and deportation.”
“It is unbelievable the resources they have used for one person, and the resources I assume they are using to target immigrants and leaders and advocates,” he added.
When Ragbir was released, Gottlieb told NBC New York that she was moved “by the judge’s powerful language about what it means to live in a democracy.”
“He’s (Trump) going to try to look presidential. The problem is not what he says tonight, the problem is what he will do tomorrow or the day after. One or two tweets will be the end of his advocacy for bipartisanship and collaboration,” she told the New York Daily News.
According to AMNewYork, early in his presidency, Trump issued an executive order which said that “ICE should prioritize deporting undocumented immigrants who have been convicted of a crime” and as a result, ICE has made 143,470 arrests in the past fiscal year.
Ragbir told the New York Daily News that although his deportation has been ordered for Feb. 10, he will still continue to fight as he has at least one pending court appeal before then.
“The purpose of detention is to break your spirit; the fight is going to continue. This is something we will be ashamed of in years to come,” he told AMNewYork.
“Don’t do this alone,” he added, encouraging others who are facing deportation to not be ashamed or afraid to get help from others.
Ragbir has had support from his wife as well as the community, which is what got him through being detained.
According to AMNewYork, hundreds of people protested in Foley Square for Ragbir’s release immediately after he was arrested, which lead to the arrest of 18 people, including city councilmen Jumaane Williams and Ydanis Rodriguez.
