Author: Staff Reporter

Raja Kumari, Malik Nominated For ‘Best Indian Act’ At MTV EMA 2022

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

Singer-songwriter Armaan Malik and rapper Raja Kumari have received nominations at the upcoming MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs). Both Malik and Kumari have secured nods in the best Indian act category at the annual music gala.

Raja Kumari has been nominated for the fifth time for the ‘Best Indian Act’ at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2022, which is scheduled to be held on November 13. She has been nominated for her song ‘Made In India’ for which she collaborated with Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit.

Kumari has been nominated for the fifth time for the ‘Best Indian Act’ at the MTV Europe Music Awards. She has been nominated for her latest release ‘Made In India‘ in which she collaborated with Bollywood actor Madhuri Dixit.

Talking about her experience and the year so far, she said: “It has been an incredible year and I am looking forward to the rest of it. The support and love that my fans have always shown me has left me speechless. I’m happiest when I see my fans dancing to my music.”

Reacting to the news of receiving the nomination, she said: “I am thrilled to receive this nomination for ‘Made in India’ at the prestigious MTV Europe Music Awards 2022. This song holds a special place in my heart, and I had a wonderful time working on it. This is a big moment for all of us and I wish luck to all the other talented nominees.”

Kumari said she was thrilled to receive this nomination for ‘Made in India‘ at the prestigious MTV Europe Music Awards 2022. “This song holds a special place in my heart, and I had a wonderful time working on it. This is a big moment for all of us and I wish luck to all the other talented nominees,” she added.

Malik has been nominated for his latest English single ‘You’. This is a second nod for him in the best Indian act category at the annual music gala. His first international single ‘Control; won him the MTV EMA in 2020 in the same segment.

Malik said he is “elated” to earn yet another nomination at the MTV EMAs. “The last time, I’d won the award for my debut single ‘Control’ and it was such a massive career milestone for me!

“I hope to make my fans, family and the country proud once again. I wish the very best to the other talented nominees alongside me, this is a big moment for all of us,” Malik said in a statement.

Public voting for all award categories is currently live on the MTV EMA’s website. The awards ceremony will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany on November 13, 2022. (IANS)

How COVID-19 Changed Life Expectancy Rates Around The World

Staff ReporterLifestyle 0

COVID-19 has caused an inordinate number of deaths around the world so far, causing life-expectancies to plunge. Historically, countries have recovered from other so-called “mortality shocks,” such as the 1918 flu and two world wars, within one to two years. But the shock of the pandemic is enduring in many places.

A study published Oct. 17 in Nature Human Behavior reviewed life-expectancy trends in 29 countries during 2021, building on previous data the scientists had analyzed from 2020, and found that COVID-19 continued to account for most life-expectancy losses in 2021. But those life-expectancy losses from the pandemic are dissipating in some countries with relatively high rates of vaccination and infection-derived immunity, which both contribute to lower COVID-19 deaths. 

Four countries in western Europe—Belgium, France, Switzerland, and Sweden—have fully restored their population’s life expectancy back to pre-pandemic levels, and four others have nearly done so, while other countries did not experience additional losses in 2020 compared to 2021. But the U.S. and 11 countries, including many in eastern Europe, continue to record excess mortality.

“We found it was indeed possible for nations to recover from drastic and historic life-expectancy losses,” says Jonas Scholey, research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for demographic research and co-author of the paper. “But within our sample, it was not the norm.”

The reasons for disparities among the countries, not surprisingly, has to do with how resilient their health-care systems are at bouncing back from the burden of caring for COVID-19 patients. It also relates to the countries’ underlying health trends that had been in place before the pandemic.

Since COVID-19 hit people ages 60 and older particularly hard, the countries that recovered best were those that lowered excess mortality among this population most quickly, through successful vaccination campaigns and the capacity to provide antiviral treatments and intensive care. Belgium, which showed the most impressive recovery out of any country studied, was particularly strong in these areas; for people 60 and older, life-expectancy rates dropped about a year in 2020 but went up by about 10 months in 2021, nearly returning to 2019 levels.

The U.S. also improved mortality rates among the elderly in 2021, but those gains were offset by increases in deaths among younger populations, including from gun violence and opioid overdoses. On top of deaths caused by COVID-19, deaths related to other chronic conditions, such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes, also continued to increase, keeping mortality among working-age populations high. Overall, life expectancy in the U.S. dropped by more than two years during the pandemic compared to 2019 levels.

In eastern Europe, persistent losses in life expectancy are likely due to fractured health-care systems that still have not recovered from the overwhelming impact of the pandemic, says Scholey. “I’m not at all optimistic about how fast health-care systems can regenerate from the shock they had to absorb over the past 2.5 years,” he says. “By that I mean people in the health care system as well; some have resigned and others suffer from burnout, and this has an effect on what health systems can do.” Many countries in eastern Europe showed deeper life-expectancy losses in 2021 than in 2020; the populations of Bulgaria and Slovakia, for example, both lost about two years in 2021 due to COVID-19, which is higher than the 18-month and 9-month deficits they recorded, respectively, in 2020.

It’s still too early to determine how big an impact the pandemic will have on life-expectancy long term. It’s also impossible at this point to assess the impact of delayed health care for conditions like cancer and heart disease, which may have an eventual effect on mortality. Experts expect the consequences of people skipping or not getting treatments because of COVID-19 to emerge in mortality and life-expectancy trends in the next few years.

Still, with more of the world’s population now vaccinated, it’s possible that in the coming year, some of the life-expectancy losses in countries could begin to reverse, says Scholey. “I am cautiously optimistic that the excess deaths this winter [from COVID-19] won’t be as pronounced in many countries as they have been over the last two years. But with a virus as unpredictable as SARS-CoV-2, “we’ll have to see.” (TIME.COM)

China’s Xi Expected To Get Third Term Despite Mounting Crises

Staff ReporterWorld 0

On Sunday, October 16th, a collection of 2,300 delegates from the Communist Party of China convened for a weeklong conference to choose China’s next leader. The victor is almost certain to be current President and General Secretary Xi Jinping, who would be the first to serve more than two terms as the Party’s leader since Mao Zedong.

The congress is the 20th in the history of the century-old party, which boasts some 96 million members, over 2,000 of whom will attend the Beijing meetings.

As with most Chinese political events, little information has been released beforehand and the congress’ outcome will only be announced after several days of closed-door sessions. How much has been decided in advance and how much is still to be hashed out in face-to-face meetings also remains unknown.

The changes will “incorporate the major theoretical views and strategic thinking” concluded in the five years since the last congress, said the congress’ spokesperson Sun Yeli, a deputy head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Propaganda Department who is not well known outside party circles.

The amendment or amendments will “meet new requirements for advancing the party’s development and work in the face of new circumstances and new tasks,” Sun said.

That start date is in line with tradition – in recent decades, the party has always held its congresses between September and November. The highly choreographed affairs usually last about a week, bringing together some 2,000 delegates from across the country in a show of unity and legitimacy. 

But this year’s congress is anything but conventional.  Xi, who has consolidated enormous power since taking office a decade ago, is widely expected to seek an unprecedented third term as China’s top leader, breaking with convention set by his predecessors since the early 1990s. 

While some have resented XI’s trampling on what few freedoms Chinese citizens still enjoyed under the one party state, others say China’s various and acute challenges require that a “strong leader is needed to keep at bay the recipes for chaos and dysfunction,” Torigian said.

Xi’s third term is a break with an unofficial two-term limit that other recent leaders had followed. What’s not clear is how long he will remain in power, and what that means for China and the world.

“I see Xi having his way at the 20th congress, mostly. It is a question of how much more powerful he will be coming out of it,” said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the London University School of Oriental and African Studies. “He is not coming out looking weaker.” 

It’s a plan years in the making, ever since Xi removed the presidential term limits from the country’s constitution in 2018. But for an authoritarian leader obsessed with stability, the months leading up to it haven’t exactly been a smooth ride. 

Since coming to power, Xi has waged a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown to purge opponents, silence dissent and instill loyalty. He has revamped and secured a firm grip over the military, and other critical levers of power. 

“Very often, when there are challenges, it’s not necessarily bad for the supreme leader at all,” said Dali Yang, a political scientist at the University of Chicago. “In fact, authoritarian leaders like Xi thrive on challenges – and often use such crises to enhance their power.”

India’s Congress Party Votes To Elect New President In Over A Quarter Century

Staff ReporterIndia 0

India’s main opposition Congress party voted to elect a new president Monday, with members of its dominant Nehru-Gandhi dynasty staying out of the race.

Sonia Gandhi, the interim party president, was among the nearly 9,000 party delegates who were entitled to vote on the matter.  “I have been waiting for this for a long time,″ she said after voting in the party’s New Delhi office.

Although the party has historically been led by the family, Sonia Gandhi and her son, Rahul Gandhi, decided to bring in a new face after suffering crushing defeats in national and state elections since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party came to power in 2014. 

Eighty-year-old Mallikarjun Kharge from southern Karnataka state appears to be the frontrunner with the party’s top leaders backing him during campaigning ahead of the vote. He has been described by Indian media as the “official candidate.” His main challenger is Shashi Tharoor, 66, who spent nearly 30 years at the United Nations before joining the Congress party in 2009.

As voting for the Congress presidential election is underway Monday, one of the candidates and party MP from Kerala Shashi Tharoor said the future of the Congress is in the hands of the party workers who will vote for the day’s electoral process.

After casting his vote at the party state committee office in Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor, 66, told the media the Congress workers would decide on the next leadership. This election would only benefit the Congress party, he added. “Like the Bharat Jodo Yatra, this presidential election was also meant to revitalise the party. New energy is required to fight the BJP as well as to face the next Lok Sabha elections. We are going to face a big challenge from BJP in the next elections. I hope this presidential election has served that purpose,” he said.

Tharoor also said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had messaged him Monday morning to say the election to choose the Congress president has benefited the party and that she also thanked him. “That is what we want to know. Now, people have a feeling that there is some mobility in the party. With regard to the stand of the Gandhi family, I have been told right from the beginning that they are impartial in the presidential elections,’’ he said.

“It has been 22 years since the presidential election was held in the party. Hence, the election has got its own problems. I think within the last 16 days I could take my message to the maximum number of party workers,” he added.

This will be the sixth time in its nearly 137-year-old history that an electoral contest would decide who would take up the mantle of the party’s president. Tharoor has faced an uphill task in his home state Kerala, where most of the senior leaders stood with Kharge. The result of the Congress presidential polls will be declared on Wednesday, October 19.

With India’s Top Court Nod, Kerala Government To Hand Over Thiruvananthapuram Airport To Adani

Staff ReporterTourism 0

The Supreme Court Monday, October 17th dismissed a plea by the Kerala government challenging the handover of the management of the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport to Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL).

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India UU Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi dismissed the special leave petitions filed by the Kerala government and a few employee unions of the airport against Kerala High Court’s judgement which upheld the airport’s lease to AEL. AEL took over the airport in October, 2020 after the Airport Authority of India (AAI) leased out its management to the company.

In November, 2020, the Kerala government had moved the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the judgment of the Kerala High Court that allowed the Ahmedabad-based company to operate, manage and develop the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport. he apex court noted that the high court “rightly rejected” the challenge.

On October 19, 2020, a division bench comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and CS Dias of the High Court had dismissed the petitions challenging the AAI tender to Adani group, observing that Court cannot interfere with a policy decision of the executive regarding privatization of airports, according to the Livelaw.

The bench also declined to entertain the plea filed by the AAEU and others challenging the High Court order. “Considering the fact that the private entity has been in operation since October 2021, we see no reason to interfere,” the bench said while dismissing the petitions.

Senior advocate CU Singh contended before the bench that land on which the airport is built belonged to the Kerala government, and the state should get preferential rights, and also alleged that RFP was tailor made to suit the Adani group. However, the bench pointed out that the state government did not chal-lenge the RFP conditions, rather participated in the bid.

The apex court clarified that the question in connection with the ownership of airport land will remain open. The Kerala government had challenged the Airports Authority of India (AAI) decision to prefer Adani over it for management of the airport. The appeal argued that this decision was not in public interest and granting concession to Adani, who has no previous experience in managing airports, was violative of the provisions of the Airports Authority of India Act.

The Kerala government claimed many clauses in the Request for Proposal (RFP) were tailor-made to suit private players but the court rejected that contention. The Union said the tender was carried out in a transparent manner, and special advantage was given to KSIDC (Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation) at the state’s request.

Thiruvananthapuram International Airport was handed over to the Adani Group in October last year; the company won a bidding process held in 2019 by quoting ₹168 as the per-passenger fee payable to AII. The state government contended that leasing the management of Thiruvananthapuram Airport to Adani Group was not in public interest.

The court said the Adani Group has already taken over the “operation, management and development” of the airport since October 2021. “Considering the fact that the private entity has been in operation since October 2021, we see no reason to interfere,” the SC noted.

On the argument by employees that conditions of their service would be affected by the takeover of the airport by Adani Group, the SSC said they were given the choice to either stay with the group or move to airports managed by AAI.

Senior Advocate CU Singh appearing for Kerala government submitted that the land in which the airport is situated belonged to the State Government. Also, the State has expended money to acquire additional land for the airport. Therefore, the State ought to have preferential rights, Live Law reports.

He highlighted that the state entities have experience in managing the Cochin International Airport and the Kannur International Airport. “Yes we had commissioned Kannur and Cochin airports. Cochin is world class airport now”, Singh submitted.

Earlier, Kerala Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Union government to rescind its decision. After losing the bid, the state government approached the Kerala High Court, but failed to get a favorable decision, following which they along with AAEU moved the apex court.

Loan Forgiveness Application Available For Students Now

Staff ReporterEducation, Money 0

The Department of Education launched a beta test version of its student loan relief website on Friday with an application that borrowers can fill out ahead of the site’s official launch later this month.

Since August, when President Biden announced that he would fulfill his campaign promise to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt, borrowers have been waiting diligently to hear the next steps. While the application—which was originally supposed to open in early October—is not fully functional, the Department of Education is welcoming applicants to submit their applications on the beta test site.

The beta site’s application will be available “on and off” over the next few weeks, according to the Education Department. The department chose to launch its beta version early so their technical team can work to detect and remedy any issues that might come up

How does the beta application process go?

The federal agency said that there’s no advantage to completing the application before its official launch because it won’t be processed until then, but if a borrower fills out the application during the beta period, they won’t have to worry about filling it out again later. 

The application process takes about 5 minutes, and it’s available in English and Spanish. Applicants also don’t need to log in or provide any documents, according to the department. About 95% of federal student loan borrowers are eligible for relief.

The Education Department’s technical team will be responding to potential issues in real-time, and although the application itself won’t change, the team may make changes to the website if faced with any glitches. 

The beta version of the site will have scheduled pauses for the team to observe its progress and refine any errors, so the department is encouraging applicants to check back later if the site is down when they try to visit it. The department’s website crashed in August on the day of the student loan relief announcement, so the department is likely testing the site thoroughly to avoid a repeat.

How quickly are borrowers expected to receive relief?

The Biden administration initially said that the debt relief application would become available in early October, but in a legal filing on Friday, the Department of Education announced that it won’t be available before Oct. 23. From that point, the application will be available until Dec. 31, 2023.

​​The application asks borrowers to submit their Social Security numbers and to corroborate that they meet the income caps for the program, which are limited to a salary less than $125,000, or under $250,000 for married couples, in 2020 or 2021. Borrowers are eligible to cancel $10,000 of federal student loan debt and Pell Grant recipients are eligible for up to $20,000 of relief.

The Federal Student Aid office will confirm applicants’ eligibility, and reach out to applicants if more information is needed. Applicants’ loan service providers will be responsible for contacting them once their relief has been processed.

Borrowers can expect to see their relief granted within four to six weeks after filling out the application, according to Education Secretary, Miguel Cardona. With looming legal action challenging the student loan relief program and an imminent renewal of student loan payments beginning in January, experts have encouraged borrowers to fill out the application as soon as possible.

Rep. Ro Khanna Introduces Bill To Declare Pak Actions In 1971 War As Genocide

Staff ReporterWorld 0

Indian origin congressman Ro Khanna has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to declare Pakistan Army’s actions during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war as “genocide” and “crime against humanity”.

The legislation introduced by Ro Khanna, along with Congressman Steve Chabot, recognizes that such atrocities against ethnic Bengalis and Hindus constitute crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide.

“…condemns the atrocities committed by the Armed Forces of Pakistan against the people of Bangladesh from March 1971 to December 1971; recognizes that such atrocities against ethnic Bengalis and Hindus constitute crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide; calls on the President of the United States to recognize the atrocities committed against ethnic Bengalis and Hindus by the Armed Forces of Pakitan during 1971 as crimes against humanity war crimes, and genocide,” the legislation read, a copy of which was posted by Chabot on his Twitter handle.

Congressman Chabot said legislation looks to recognize that the mass atrocities committed against Bengalis and Hindus, in particular, were indeed a genocide.

“The Bangladesh Genocide of 1971 must not be forgotten. With help from my Hindu constituents in Ohio’s First District, @RepRoKhanna and I introduced legislation to recognize that the mass atrocities committed against Bengalis and Hindus, in particular, were indeed a genocide,” Congressman Chabot tweeted.

“We must not let the years erase the memory of the millions who were massacred. Recognizing the genocide strengthens the historical record, educates our fellow Americans, and lets would-be perpetrators know such crimes will not be tolerated or forgotten,” he added.

The eight-page legislation also mentions March 28, 1971 telegram sent by United States Consul General in Dacca, Archer Blood titled “Selective Genocide”.

In this message, the US Consul General wrote, “Moreover, with support of Pak military, non-Bengali Muslims are systematically attacking poor people’s quarters and murdering Bengalis and Hindus. Streets of Dacca are aflood with Hindus and others seeking to get out of Dacca. Many Bengalis have sought refuge in homes of Ameri cans, most of whom are extending shelter.”

Bangladesh Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque last month called the greater push for international recognition of genocide carried out on unarmed Bangalees, Bangladesh News Agency reported.

Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Haque said international recognition of the genocide of 1971 could not be realized in 51 years after independence, Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

However, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government declared March 25 as National Genocide Day. The minister sought international recognition for March 25 as “International Genocide Day” side by side with the existing December 9.

The genocide in Bangladesh began on 25 March 1971 with the launch of Operation Searchlight, as the government of Pakistan, dominated by West Pakistan, began a military crackdown on East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) to suppress Bengali calls for self-determination.

During the nine-month-long Bangladesh Liberation War, members of the Pakistan Armed Forces and supporting pro-Pakistani Islamist militias from Jamaat-e-Islami killed between 300,000 and 3,000,000 people and raped between 200,000 and 400,000 Bengali women, in a systematic campaign of genocidal rape. The Government of Bangladesh states 3,000,000 people were killed during the genocide, making it the largest genocide since the Holocaust during World War II.

On the high end, Bangladeshi authorities claim that as many as 3 million people were killed; the lowest estimate comes from the controversial Hamoodur Rahman Commission, the official Pakistani government investigation, which claimed the figure was 26,000 civilian casualties. The figure of 3 million has become embedded in Bangladeshi culture and literature.

Infosys In Legal Trouble Over Hiring Discrimination Against Indian-Origin Employees

Staff ReporterTechnology 0

Indian IT major Infosys is facing a lawsuit in the United States filed by its former vice president of talent acquisition Jill Prejean, who has accused the company of adopting a discriminatory approach in hiring.

Prejean, 60, was hired in October 2018 and specialized in talent acquisition at vice president and partner levels at Infosys’s consulting division. She told a US court that she was asked by her management to avoid hiring people of Indian origin, women with children at home, and candidates aged 50 or above.

On Friday, September 30, a motion of Infosys to dismiss the suit filed by Prejean was rejected by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Infosys and the top executives who have been accused in Prejean’s complaint had moved for dismissal of the suit on grounds that the complainant had not provided any specific comment as proof.

The company has been given 21 days to respond to the court’s order.  Neither Prejean nor Infosys responded to queries posed by indica.

In her lawsuit, Prejean also accused former senior VP and head of consulting Mark Livingston, and former partners Dan Albright and Jerry Kurtz Infosys, of retaliatory termination and a hostile work environment.

According to the court order, “In December 2018, Livingston joined Infosys as Senior Vice President for Consulting and Prejean’s day-to-day supervisor. Shortly after joining the firm, Livingston allegedly met with Prejean in Infosys’s New York office and told her that he wished her to exclude women “with children at home” and candidates near or over 50 years old. Prejean told Livingston that these demands were illegal, and Livingston allegedly responded by becoming “disturbed and angry.” He also allegedly threatened to remove her from her position if she did not capitulate.”

Prejean has alleged in her suit that her employment was terminated in an unjust fashion after Kurtz and Albright “turned hostile” towards her because she had objected to their illegal demands while hiring senior executives for the company.

In her lawsuit, Prejean has claimed that she had been hired by Infosys to employ senior executives who could work in the consulting division as partners or vice presidents.

In her complaint, Prejean has said that she was shocked to find “a rampant culture of illegal discriminatory animus among the partner level executives based on age, gender, and caregiver status.”

Prejean has also claimed that when she tried to change this culture during the first two months of being hired, her efforts were resisted by Kurtz and Albright. Prejean has claimed that the two partners became hostile toward her objections and tried to override her authority to dodge the letter of law in this regard.

She said that “Infosys employees, and Livingston in particular, regularly told her that she should not hire women with caregiving responsibilities or people over 50 and threatened her when she did not accede.”

She alleged that Kurtz and Albright “expressly stated” their
discriminatory hiring preferences to her; that they, along with Livingston, “engaged in a concerted campaign of harassment, intimidation, and threats to Plaintiff and her job”; and “on a weekly basis . . . reiterated their displeasure with Plaintiff not discriminating against candidates and their desire to fire her.”

Prejean has alleged in her complaint that the biases of Kurtz and Albright violated New York City Human Rights Laws and also resulted in the termination of her employment.

India – US Partnership for Innovation Summit 2022 Held In Boston

Staff ReporterUSA, India 0

The Consulate General of India in New York in partnership with the Center for Emerging Markets, Northeastern University (NU), Boston, organized an India – US Partnership for Innovation Summit on 14th Oct, 2022. 

The Summit held to celebrate 75 years of India’s independence – Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav – was attended by leading business leaders, think tank members, scholars, researchers and students. Inaugurating the day-long conference, Ambassador of India to the United States H.E. Taranjit Singh Sandhu highlighted how high value and cost effective innovations in India were bringing value to India-US ties – in the fields of pharma, health-care, clean energy, start-ups, digital education and other segments of bilateral engagement. 

Talking of innovations in India in the field of sustainability, he underlined the need for the global community to adopt Mission LIFE – i.e. lifestyle for environment – called for by Honb’le Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi.

Special Ministerial remarks at the summit was made by Honb’le Minister of Health & Family Welfare, and Chemicals & Fertilizers of India – Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya. He focused his address on India’s recent developments in the India-US health sector, especially the close collaboration in vaccine development. Minister Mandaviya noted that India had vaccinated over 95 % of its adult population distributing 2.19 billion doses, as also supplied COVID vaccines to over 100 countries.

Other speakers in the summit included former Minister of Civil Aviation, Railways, Commerce and Industry – Mr. Suresh Prabhu who mentioned the innovative steps taken by India in providing better services to rail passengers. Mr. Bharat Lal, Director General, National Centre for Good Governance, who earlier spearheaded the Jal Jeevan Mission (clean drinking water mission) talked about the success of this project in India, noting that the percentage of households with clean tap water connection in India had gone up from 17% in 2019 to over 55% by Sept., 2022. 

He also stressed that the Mission would be completed by 2024 where 100% coverage of clean tap water connection would be achieved. Dr. Umamaheswaran, Director, Human Space Flight Center, ISRO, spoke about India’s progress in the space sector achieved in the most cost effective manner. 

Sumant Sinha, Chairman & CEO, Renew Power, gave a detailed account of the remarkable progress in India in harnessing renewable energy. Renew Power is India’s leading solar and wind energy company with across geography collaboration including with the United States. Mr. Phalgun Kompalli, Co-founder, upGrad, a leading ed-tech company spoke about the growth of digital education and the value company like his bring to the US higher education landscape. 

Deepak Bagla, MD & CEO, Invest India, gave an impressive presentation on India as the most preferred destination for investment. India received record FDI in 2022 of US$ 82 billion in 57 different sectors. Mr. Josh Foulger, MD Bharat FIH Ltd, made a presentation on the success of electronics manufacturing and the value MAKE IN INDIA brings to global supply chain.  

Ms. Pamela Reeve, Chair of the Board, American Tower Corporation, a Boston based global major noted the journey of the company in India where it owns over 75000 telecommunication towers and how Digital India program was transforming lives of people in the country. Mr. Krish Nangegadda, Member, IDEA Advisory Board, NU, made a presentation on the start-up collaboration between GITAM University in India and NU.

Consul General of India, New York – Mr. Randhir Jaiswal showcased India’s achievements in the recent past and highlighted the importance of Indo-US partnership for the future. Prof. Ravi Ramamurthy, Director, Center for Emerging Markets, Northeastern University, who anchored the summit elaborated how innovations in India could be most relevant for countries such as United States. 

The Consulate conveyed its deep appreciation to Prof. David Madigan, Provost, NU and Dean Emery Trahan of D’Amore-Mckim School of Business, NU for hosting the summit.

Social Security Administration To Announce Largest Cost-Of-Living Adjustment In 40 Years

Staff ReporterUSA 0

The Social Security Administration is expected to announce its largest annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) increase in 40 years.  The hike, set to be announced on Thursday, is estimated at around 8.7 percent and will help those in the program meet rising costs driven by inflation. 

Between 2010 and 2020, average annual COLAs increased by just 1.7 percent each year, while COLAs have only risen above 8.7 percent three times — between 1979 and 1981 at 9.9 percent, 14.3 percent and 11.2 percent, respectively.  

The COLAs are based on the country’s current inflation rates. In 1980, inflation was above 14 percent yet declined to 3.5 percent in the latter half of the decade; the COLA followed suit, declining to 5.4 percent in 1990.  

Around 70 million Americans receive Social Security benefits. It is estimated that the COLA hike will increase the average monthly retiree check by around $144, according to the Senior Citizens League, a bipartisan advocacy group. 

How is the COLA rate determined? 

The automatic annual adjustments are based on the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) and have taken place every year since 1975. Prior to that, adjustments were approved by Congress.  

Because the CPI-W is such a broad measure of consumer prices, some have questioned whether the index is the best metric to determine beneficiaries’ needs, the majority of whom are retirees.  

The CPI-W is based on price changes for goods and services purchased by workers. Some experts have proposed replacing replacing the CPI-W with a different measure: the CPI-Elderly. But the CPI-E, which reflects spending patterns of the elderly, would not always result in a higher COLA. The difference between the two measures has also been shrinking in recent years. 

The annual adjustment has received criticism in the past for the lag period between the start of rising inflation and when beneficiaries receive the cushion payments. Others argue the automatic adjustment can result in COLAs larger than the rate of inflation.  

The purpose of the adjustments is to ensure Social Security beneficiaries retain buying power during times of inflation, so individuals with fixed incomes can keep up with rising rents, mortgages and grocery costs.  

However, the large COLA might push some recipients over an income threshold, requiring them to pay income taxes on part of their benefit. Single filers who have a combined income equal to or below $25,000 pay no taxes on their benefits. For joint filers, the threshold is $32,000. 

The majority of Social Security benefits is funded through Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes. Should a recession hit and unemployment rates rise, it could affect future COLAs. Following the 2008 recession, no COLAs were paid in 2010 and 2011.  

Why is it needed? 

The simple reason that a big COLA increase is needed now is the record inflation being experienced in the nation.  

“It’s the highest rate of inflation that retirees and disabled people today have really ever seen,” said Mary Johnson, a Social Security and Medicare policy analyst at The Senior Citizens League. 

The majority of Social Security beneficiaries are retirees and individuals aged 65 or older. 

“When people are retired, if they do not have much in the way of savings—and quite a large percentage don’t—that can make it very difficult when prices increase and they have nowhere to go to meet those rising costs,” Johnson said.  

Data from July show more than half of older women living alone are poor according to federal poverty standards or don’t have enough money to afford essential expenses. That total is lower for men, at 45 percent. 

A large proportion of older beneficiaries’ Social Security payments goes toward health care, housing and food costs.  

Because many medical problems worsen with age, increased costs of care put a strain on retirees’ purse strings.  

In general, older individuals tend to have higher health care utilization rates, while around two-thirds of older Americans consider health care costs a financial burden. 

Although more than 50 million older adults rely on Medicare to cover some or all of their health care expenses, the extra COLA cash coming in each month may not be sufficient to meet retirees’ expenses. 

“Social Security COLA will cushion the impact of inflation and put more money in seniors’ pockets. That’s not to say some won’t continue to struggle,” said Tricia Neuman, the executive director of the Medicare policy program at the Kaiser Family Foundation. 

“Half of all people in Medicare live on incomes below about $30,000 per person. So even with a COLA that’s higher than normal this year, they may continue to struggle with high and rising prices for various things they need on a day-to-day basis, like gas for their cars, rent, food, and other basics, and of course healthcare expenses.”  

Medicare Part B premiums are deducted from Social Security checks, and this year, older beneficiaries on Medicare will see additional financial relief alongside the high COLA.

This is thanks to low uptake of the controversial and expensive Alzheimer’s drug aduhelm, which will lead to lower premiums for beneficiaries.  

Typically, Part B premiums have grown three times faster than the Social Security COLA and marks one of the fastest, if not the fastest, growing costs in retirement, Johnson said.  

Older Americans struggling to pay for high drug prices will also see some respite due to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which requires Medicare to negotiate with drug companies to lower prices. It puts a cap on out-of-pocket drug costs starting in 2025 and a $35 monthly cap on insulin prices beginning in 2023.  

“But much of that is still to be phased in,” Johnson said. “The price negotiation is going to be only on a limited set of drugs. So there’s still a considerable amount of out-of-pocket spending that older Americans will probably have to encounter for prescription drugs.” 

“The COLA this year should help but doesn’t address more fundamental concerns for seniors living at or near the poverty level, which include a disproportionate share of people of color,” Neuman said.  

Scientists May Have Just Cracked the Code on Fast Electric Car Charging

Staff ReporterTechnology, Science 0

We’re going to need to mine a huge amount of metals like cobalt and lithium to electrify the world’s automobiles. But things would be easier if car batteries didn’t have to be so big. 

To a large extent, automobile makers building the next generation of electric vehicles (EVs) are competing on range, putting big, powerful batteries into their cars so they can travel farther between charges. That means mining and refining more minerals to build those bigger cars, and thus a bigger impact on the landscape, and a larger environmental footprint. The reason for all that is that EV batteries don’t charge very fast, so the assumption is that people will only buy cars that they can drive for a long time without the inconvenience of a long charging stop. But that paradigm might be about to change. 

A typical EV takes around 30 minutes or more to charge with a high-powered DC fast charger. But today researchers at Penn State University published a study in Nature revealing they have developed an EV battery that, crucially, can charge up to about 70% capacity in roughly 10 minutes. 

The technology can work for any size of battery, but perhaps the biggest benefit is that it will enable automakers to sell EVs with smaller batteries without triggering consumers’ range anxiety. The faster a battery can charge, the less need there is for big battery packs with long range, since stopping to charge will be no less an inconvenience than going to a gas station. And smaller battery packs also mean cheaper EVs. 

“Now you can essentially use much less raw materials, and reduce a tremendous [amount of] carbon emissions from manufacturing those batteries,” says Chao-Yang Wang, a professor of materials science and engineering at Penn State, and the lead author of the study. He’s also the founder and CTO of EC Power, a battery technology company that collaborated with the researchers on the study. The company is building a factory in Pennsylvania to start mass producing the batteries—they say the technology will be commercially available in about two years.

Wang is something of a rarity in the world of battery engineering—he’s been in the field since the early 1990s, contributing work on GM’s groundbreaking EV1, and his papers stretching back through the decades have been referenced by hundreds of other studies. About seven years ago, Wang and his team started looking into the question of how to make batteries charge faster. They tried several approaches, including methods to modulate the electrical current feeding energy into the battery, but ultimately cast that option aside. 

One other potential method involved heat. Batteries use chemical reactions to store energy, and those reactions are susceptible to temperature. When it gets cold, those reactions slow down, which is one of the reasons EV range can suffer in cold weather. Wang and his team started looking into doing the opposite, seeing if by warming essential components to the right temperature (about 176°F in their latest models) they could stimulate those reactions to work faster. As it turned out, the approach worked better than they could have expected. “The modeling came back to be just astonishing,” says Wang.

It took about a year and a half to finish completing electrochemical and thermal simulations for the heat approach—for instance, to see if heating the battery components would make them wear out faster. By 2017, they were building test models. Their approach involved burying thin sheets of nickel foil inside a battery, which could heat the internal components to just the right temperature during charging, helping them to absorb electricity more efficiently—without, of course, overheating the battery and creating a fire risk. “Battery technology has been lagging behind, and its fast charging problem has been a longstanding challenge,” Wang says. “Only now, we’re beginning to crack the code.”

 

Ben Bernanke Awarded Nobel Prize In Economics

Staff ReporterProfile, Finance/Economy 0

On October 10th, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022 to Ben Bernanke for his groundbreaking research on banks and financial crises. Bernanke shares the prize with Douglas Diamond of the University of Chicago and Philip Dybvig of Washington University in St. Louis.

“This year’s laureates in the Economic Sciences, Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig, have significantly improved our understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises. An important finding in their research is why avoiding bank collapses is vital,” a statement issued by the Awards Committee stated. 

Modern banking research clarifies why we have banks, how to make them less vulnerable in crises and how bank collapses exacerbate financial crises. The foundations of this research were laid by Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig in the early 1980s. Their analyses have been of great practical importance in regulating financial markets and dealing with financial crises.

For the economy to function, savings must be channelled to investments. However, there is a conflict here: savers want instant access to their money in case of unexpected outlays, while businesses and homeowners need to know they will not be forced to repay their loans prematurely. In their theory, Diamond and Dybvig show how banks offer an optimal solution to this problem. By acting as intermediaries that accept deposits from many savers, banks can allow depositors to access their money when they wish, while also offering long-term loans to borrowers.

However, their analysis also showed how the combination of these two activities makes banks vulnerable to rumours about their imminent collapse. If a large number of savers simultaneously run to the bank to withdraw their money, the rumour may become a self-fulfilling prophecy – a bank run occurs and the bank collapses. These dangerous dynamics can be prevented through the government providing deposit insurance and acting as a lender of last resort to banks.

Diamond demonstrated how banks perform another societally important function. As intermediaries between many savers and borrowers, banks are better suited to assessing borrowers’ creditworthiness and ensuring that loans are used for good investments.

Ben Bernanke analysed the Great Depression of the 1930s, the worst economic crisis in modern history. Among other things, he showed how bank runs were a decisive factor in the crisis becoming so deep and prolonged. When the banks collapsed, valuable information about borrowers was lost and could not be recreated quickly. Society’s ability to channel savings to Educationproductive investments was thus severely diminished.

“The laureates’ insights have improved our ability to avoid both serious crises and expensive bailouts,” says Tore Ellingsen, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences.

AI Tools Fail To Reduce Recruitment Bias – Study

Staff ReporterEducation, Technology 0

Artificially intelligent hiring tools do not reduce bias or improve diversity, researchers say in a study.

“There is growing interest in new ways of solving problems such as interview bias,” the Cambridge University researchers say, in the journal Philosophy and Technology

The use of AI is becoming widespread – but its analysis of candidate videos or applications is “pseudoscience”. 

A professional body for human resources told BBC News AI could counter bias.

In 2020, the study notes, an international survey of 500 human-resources professionals suggested nearly a quarter were using AI for “talent acquisition, in the form of automation”.

But using it to reduce bias is counter-productive and, University of Cambridge’s Centre for Gender Studies post-doctoral researcher Dr Kerry Mackereth told BBC News, based on “a myth”.

“These tools can’t be trained to only identify job-related characteristics and strip out gender and race from the hiring process, because the kinds of attributes we think are essential for being a good employee are inherently bound up with gender and race,” she said.

Some companies have also found these tools problematic, the study notes.

In 2018, for example, Amazon announced it had scrapped the development of an AI-powered recruitment engine because it could detect gender from CVs and discriminated against female applicants.

‘Modern phrenology’

Of particular concern to the researchers were tools to “analyse the minutiae of a candidate’s speech and bodily movements” to see how closely they resembled a company’s supposed ideal employee.

Video and image analysis technology had “no scientific basis”, co-author Dr Eleanor Drage told BBC News, dismissing it as “modern phrenology”, the false theory skull shape could reveal character and mental faculties.

“They say that they can know your personality from looking at your face. The idea is that, like a lie-detector test, AI can see ‘through’ your face to the real you,” she told BBC News.

With six computer-science students, the researchers built their own simplified AI recruitment tool, to rate candidates’ photographs for the “big five” personality traits: 

agreeableness

extroversion

openness

conscientiousness

neuroticism

But the ratings were skewed by many irrelevant variables.

“When you use our tool, you can see that your personality score changes when you alter the contrast/brightness/saturation,” Dr Drage wrote.

Technology news site The Register noted other investigations had reached a similar conclusion. 

A German public broadcaster found wearing glasses or a headscarf in a video changed a candidate’s scores.

Hayfa Mohdzaini, from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, told BBC News its research suggested only 8% of employers used AI to select candidates.

“AI can efficiently help increase an organisation’s diversity by filtering from a larger candidate pool – but it can also miss out on lots of good candidates if the rules and training data are incomplete or inaccurate,” she said.

“AI software to analyse candidates’ voice and body language in recruitment is in its infancy and therefore carries both opportunities and risks.”  (BBC.COM)

Indian Economy Shows Great Resilience Post Covid; Marches Strongly Towards 2047 Goal

Economy

India has one of the most promising economies globally. India has surpassed Britain to become the world’s fifth largest economy. The manufacturing MSME- start-up ecosystem has boosted the economy and created new job opportunities.

As a result of these efforts, the Indian economy has recovered from the negative effects of Covid, and the country is on its way to becoming the world’s third and $5 trillion economy.

The good news is that the eight key industries that drive the country’s economy — coal, crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, and electricity — have grown by 4.5 per cent.

This simply means that the Indian economy has returned to normalcy and is progressing.

India has the big goal of becoming developed and self-reliant by 2047, when the country attains its 100th independence day.

The Indian economy has recovered from the pandemic and is back on track. In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, GDP increased by 13.5 per cent (April-June).

At constant prices, the country’s GDP was Rs 32.46 lakh crore in the first quarter of the fiscal year 2021-22, while it grew by 13.5 per cent to Rs 36.85 lakh crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.

Simultaneously, the common index of eight core industries, which contribute significantly to the country’s economy, has increased by 4.5 per cent since July 2021.

The final growth rate of the eight core industries was revised to 9.5 per cent in April 2022, up from 8.4 per cent previously.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the economy are bearing fruit.

These latest figures show that the Indian economy has recovered from the pandemic’s negative effects.

The country is now rapidly moving towards becoming self-reliant.

India has surpassed Germany to become the world’s fourth largest automobile market. In 2021, India sold 37.6 lakh vehicles, while Germany sold 29.7 lakh vehicles. August is the fifth month in a row that more than 3 lakh cars have been sold in India.

In the global market, Indian products are now emerging as the first choice. India is the world’s leading exporter of electronics, petroleum, and engineering goods.

Exports of these products increased by 17 per cent this year compared to the same period in 2021 (April-August).

The Indian government recognized an important fact when Covid first appeared — the economic impact of this epidemic differed from the effect of the previous epidemic because the Covid epidemic was designed to have a negative impact on demand.

As a result, there was concern that the pandemic would have long-term economic consequences for the country.

However, the government’s tight machinery was in place to ensure that such a situation did not last long.

As a result, a number of reform initiatives were launched. Labour reforms, agricultural reforms, changing the definition of a micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise, and implementing the production-linked incentive scheme were among them.

These reforms attempted to formalise the country’s economy to a large extent.

The identification of shell units, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the goods and services tax were all critical steps in bringing the economy under a set of rules and regulations.

The benefit of this was that there was an attempt to shape the economy in terms of shape, type, and behaviour. Simultaneously, a focus on job creating industries was sought.

The government had a clear vision that the country needed to address not only the immediate challenges but also ensure the recovery of economy and infrastructure development, both of which are critical to achieving the objectives.

The new generation of the country is now taking the risk of innovation, learning from mistakes, and getting involved with new energy.

Employment in MSMEs has increased by 116 per cent as compared to 2019-20.

It is the charisma of the growing youth power that drives the small scale industry, that is, India’s MSME and start-up ecosystem is growing at the fastest rate in the world. (IANS)

2,560-pound pumpkin wins California contest; sets record

Staff ReporterEnvironment 0

(AP) — A horticulture teacher from Minnesota set a new U.S. record Monday for the heaviest pumpkin after raising a giant gourd weighing 2,560 pounds. 

Travis Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota set the new record and won an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California. 

“Minnesota has a great midyear, but our spring in our parts is really, really tough. So to do it in Minnesota, it just shouldn’t happen,” Gienger said. “It’s like winning the Tour de France on a big wheel. You know, you can only hope, but it worked.”

Gienger drove the gargantuan gourd for 35 hours to see his hard work pay off at the 49th World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco.

“You think driving in a snowstorm is bad? Try driving one of these things,” he said. 

Gienger, who also won the same contest in Northern California in 2020, broke a record set last week in New York where a grower raised a massive pumpkin weighing 2,554 pounds.

A grower in Italy holds the world record for the heaviest pumpkin. He grew a 2,702-pound squash in 2021, according to Guinness World Records.

India Has Potential To Attract US $475 Billion FDIS In 5 Years

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy 0

A majority of MNCs believe that the Indian economy will perform significantly in the next three to five years, a report by EY-CII titled ‘Vision – Developed India: Opportunities and Expectations of MNCs” revealed. This projection is in the light of 71 per cent of multi-national companies (MNCs) considering India for global expansion. The report stated that the country has the potential to attract US$475 billion worth foreign direct investment (FDI) in the next five years with its sharp focus on reforms and economic growth.

According to reports, even as the pandemic and geopolitical conflict resulted in investor uncertainty, India has the potential to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows of $475 billion in the next five years due to the focus on reforms and economic growth, according to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and EY.

The report noted that FDI in India has seen a consistent rise in the last decade, with FY 2021-22 receiving FDI inflow of $84.8 billion despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical developments on investment sentiment.

“India is seen as an emerging manufacturing hub in global value chains, as a growing consumer market and as a hub for ongoing digital transformation. In addition, in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment, India’s large and stable democracy and consistent reform measures are recognized by the MNCs (multinational company),” the report said.

The report titled ‘Vision—Developed India: Opportunities and Expectations of MNCs’, added that 71% of MNCs working in India consider the country an important destination for their global expansion. The optimism is driven by both short-term as well as long-term prospects.

“A majority of MNCs feel that the Indian economy will perform significantly better in 3-5 years backed by 96% of respondents being positive about overall India’s potential,” the report said.

World Trade Center To Display Diwali Themed Animation

Staff ReporterCulture 0

The South Asian Engagement Foundation along with the Durst Organization will be displaying, Diwali-themed animation on the façade of the One World Center, a symbol of New York City’s eternal goodness. The animation will occur daily, Oct 22-Oct 24th from 6pm-2am.

“We are so happy to bring this wonderful animation to everyone via the World Trade Center and so fortunate to work with The Durst Organization to bring this message of peace, harmony and the celebration of good over evil,” said Rahul Walia, Founding Trustee of South Asian Engagement Foundation.

Named the All-American Diwali, the celebration is dedicated to New York’s finest. SAEF plans to honor them through its social media posts, and requests everyone celebrating Diwali throughout the United States to do the same for their own local first responders.

On the inaugural day Oct 22, 630pm, the community is cordially invited to witness the lighting with LIVE AARTI and prayer on the corner of West and Vesey Street with the One World Trade Center as the backdrop. Meeting point is outside 200 West Street.

At SAEF, the work is dedicated to building a strong brand for the Indian American community by empowering them and catalyzing the conversation around Indian Americans.

All American Diwali is a trademark and copyright of the South Asian Engagement Foundation.

The South Asian Engagement Foundation (SAEF) is a registered 501c 3 non-profit organization based in New Jersey. SAEF has a mission to increase leadership potential in Indian American communities by providing incentives using educational initiatives and civic engagements. Amongst its initiatives, SAEF supports programs like the South Asian Spelling Bee and the Cricket Bee. SAEF’s vision is to continue supporting and organizing educational initiatives and cultural outreach to expand national awareness of the Indian American community.

Connecticut Is the 3rd Most Expensive State to Retire

Staff ReporterEconomy 0

If you’re planning on retiring in Connecticut, you better start saving yesterday, according to a new report.

Great schools, beautiful shoreline, classic architecture, deep woods, fabulous arts — but you better enjoy all Connecticut has to offer while you’re young. That’s the take-away from a new report that names the Nutmeg State the 3rd most expensive, and 8th worst overall, in which to retire. 

Personal finance website Bankrate ranked each state from the perspective of what matters most to a prospective retiree. The most heavily weighted category was affordability, at 40 percent, followed by well-being (20%), culture and diversity (15%), weather (15%) and crime (10%).

Of course, there’s more than a little subjectivity involved in selecting your final nesting place. Sunbelt states topped Bankrate’s list for retiree nirvana, but what if you burn easily and prefer skiing to snorkeling? And a state’s affordability drops way low for retirees if the home in which they live is already bought and paid for. But let’s all just play along…

Connecticut’s tied for 4th with Vermont in the crime category, and is ranked 8th overall for retiree “well-being,” but takes a beating in the data when it comes to affordability. The state ranks No. 48, right behind affluent enclaves Hawaii and California.

The New England winters didn’t work in Connecticut’s favor either; the state ranked No. 39 when it came to weather, a dip mitigated somewhat by its No. 14 ranking in culture and diversity.

Connecticut’s overall score of 23 tied that of Hawaii and Washington. 

The best state for retirees, according to BankRate, and your own intuition, is Florida. The Sunshine State not only scored high for its weather (No. 5), but was ranked first in culture and diversity, and 18th in affordability.

Religious Polarization In India Seeping Into US Diaspora

Staff ReporterCommunity, Opinion 0

(AP) – Recent events in the US and violent confrontations between some Hindus and Muslims last month in Leicester, England have heightened concerns that stark political and religious polarization in India is seeping into diaspora communities.

In Edison, New Jersey, a bulldozer, which has become a symbol of oppression of India’s Muslim minority, rolled down the street during a parade marking that country’s Independence Day.

At an event in Anaheim, California, a shouting match erupted between people celebrating the holiday and those who showed up to protest violence against Muslims in India.

Indian-Americans from diverse faith backgrounds have peacefully co-existed stateside for several decades. But these recent events in the US — and violent confrontations between some Hindus and Muslims last month in Leicester, England — have heightened concerns that stark political and religious polarisation in India is seeping into diaspora communities.

Hindu nationalism has split the Indian expatriate community just as Donald Trump’s presidency polarised the US, said Varun Soni, dean of religious life at the University of Southern California (USC). It has about 2,000 students from India, among the highest in the country.

Soni has not seen these tensions surface yet on campus. But he said USC received blowback for being one of more than 50 US universities that co-sponsored an online conference called “Dismantling Global Hindutva.” Hindutva is different from Hinduism, an ancient religion practiced by about 1 billion people worldwide that emphasizes the oneness and divine nature of all creation.

Soni said it’s important that universities remain places where “we are able to talk about issues that are grounded in facts in a civil manner,” But, as USC’s head chaplain, Soni worries how polarization over Hindu nationalism will affect students’ spiritual health.

“If someone is being attacked for their identity, ridiculed or scapegoated because they are Hindu or Muslim, I’m most concerned about their well-being – not about who is right or wrong,” he said.

Anantanand Rambachan, a retired college religion professor and a practicing Hindu who was born in Trinidad and Tobago to a family of Indian origin, said his opposition to Hindu nationalism and association with groups against the ideology sparked complaints from some at a Minnesota temple where he has taught religion classes.

He said opposing Hindu nationalism sometimes results in charges of being “anti-Hindu,” or “anti-India,” labels that he rejects.

On the other hand, many Hindu Americans feel vilified and targeted for their views, said Samir Kalra, managing director of the Hindu American Foundation in Washington, D.C.

“The space to freely express themselves is shrinking for Hindus,” he said, adding that even agreeing with the Indian government’s policies unrelated to religion can result in being branded a Hindu nationalist.

Pushpita Prasad, a spokesperson for the Coalition of Hindus of North America, said her group has been counseling young Hindu Americans who have lost friends because they refuse “to take Youthsides on these battles emanating from India.”

Rajiv Varma, a Houston-based Hindu activist, said tensions between Hindus and Muslims in the West are not a reflection of events in India but rather stem from a deliberate attempt by “religious and ideological groups that are waging a war against Hindus.”

Rasheed Ahmed, co-founder and executive director of the Washington D.C.-based Indian American Muslim Council, said he is saddened “to see even educated Hindu Americans not taking Hindu nationalism seriously.” He believes Hindu Americans must make “a fundamental decision about how India and Hinduism should be seen in the US and the world over.” “The decision about whether to take Hinduism back from whoever hijacked it, is theirs.”

GOPIO-CT Chapter Hosts Welcome Dinner for Univ. of Connecticut Students

Staff ReporterEducation, News, Youth 0

Global Organization of People of Indian Origin Connecticut Chapter (GOPIO-CT) organized a program of welcoming new students from India at the Univ. of Connecticut, School of Business from its Stamford and Hartford campuses with a networking dinner on Friday, October 14th at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Stamford. While it was networking event for the students and the Indian American community, it also served as an interactive session with a high-profile panel of Indian American Corporate Achievers and entrepreneurs. 

The program, chaired GOPIO-CT Exec. VP Prasad Chintalapudi, started with a welcome by President Ashok Nichani, who spoke on the various services provided by the chapter and supporting various charities in Connecticut. Nichani told the students the Indian American community is their host family in America and that chapter will always help whenever they need any help.

Extending a warm welcome to the new students, most of them joining only in  early September, Dr. Abraham said, “America is the greatest country which provides opportunity to open up your mind and you can be whatever you want to become, whether a professional in a large corporation, or help to manage a hedge fund or as a scientist or professor or as an entrepreneur, so, go and grab the opportunities awaiting you.” Dr. Abrahm also added that although, he is a nanotechnologist, his passion was building community institutions since he came in 1973 as a student at Columbia University.

The high-profile panel included Entain CIO Joseph Simon, Eminent Software Services Managing Partner Srikanth Dasugari, Immigration Attorney David Nachman, 3Lines COO Nandu Kuppusamy, Maganti IT Resources President Prasad Maganti, eNcloud Services President Chandra Sekhar Nallam and Maganti IT Resources CTO Sushma Maganti.

Each of the panelists were asked to comment on sets of questions on their journey to where they reached today and how earlier career choices lead them to where they are now. The panelists provided personal experience to their success. The panelists also provided guidance and inputs on educational preparation, necessary prior experience, what skills are the most important and transferable skills to acquire so as to market oneself to the American job market. 

All the students at the event were introduced at the beginning of the panel discussion. A question/answer session followed.  “It was a highly successful program with a larger participation of the students this year,” said program chair Chintalapudi. GOPIO-CT Secretary Prachi Narayan served as the moderator.

The program was coordinated with UConn Business School program Directors Laurissa Berk and Lynsi Jennings. The event was sponsored by Visaserve, an Immigration Attorneys Group headed by David Nachman with office in New jersey, New York and Connecticut.

Over the last 16 years, GOPIO-CT, a chapter of GOPIO International has become an active and dynamic organization hosting interactive sessions with policy makers and academicians, community events, youth mentoring and networking workshops, and working with other area organizations to help create a better future. GOPIO-CT – Global Organization of People of Indian Origin – serves as a non-partisan, secular, civic and community service organization – promoting awareness of Indian culture, customs and contributions of PIOs through community programs, forums, events and youth activities. It seeks to strengthen partnerships and create an ongoing dialogue with local communities.

Hyderabad bags ‘World Green City Award 2022′

Staff ReporterEnvironment 0

Hyderabad bagged the coveted ‘World Green City Award 2022’ instituted by the International Association of Horticulture Producers (AIPH) at a ceremony held in Jeju, South Korea on Friday. Hyderabad also won the ‘Living Green for Economic Recovery and Inclusive Growth’ category award, which acknowledged the greening of the Outer Ring Road. In the category ‘Living Green for Economic Recovery and Inclusive Growth’, the greening of the Outer Ring Road was submitted as Hyderabad’s entry. 

The category focuses on creating systems and solutions that allow all residents to overcome economic distress and thrive and the ORR greenery called as ‘Green Garland to the State’ was adjudged the best in this category.MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao has been emphasising on improving greenery along the ORR. 

Chief Minister Sri K. Chandrashekar Rao expressed happiness over Hyderabad city winning the prestigious “International Association of Horticulture Producers” (AIPH) awards.

Hon’ble CM congratulated Municipal Administration & Urban Development Minister Sri KT Rama Rao, Special Chief Secretary Sri Arvind Kumar and GHMC staff on Hyderabad being adjudged the winner of “Green City Award 2022” and “Living Green for Economic Recovery and Inclusive Growth” Award.

These international awards have further strengthened the reputation of Telangana and the country. They are a proof that the Telangana Govt.’s urban development programs like Haritha Haram are bearing ‘green’ fruits for India, CM said.

“It is a matter of pride for Telangana that Hyderabad is the only city from India to be selected for these international awards,” CM KCR said. Called upon the people, public representatives and officials of the State to continue the efforts for greener Telangana to realise a Green India.

CM said that, the efforts of the State Government through Haritha Haram and the environment-friendly policies have positioned not just Telangana but India as a country on the global green stage. And this is something the whole world should be proud of.

Indian Musical Based On Ancient Text Takes Center Stage Off-Broadway In November

Entertainment

PRESS PREVIEW has announced The Off-Broadway premiere of Rimli Roy’s RAMAAVAN, the story of Prince Ram and King Ravan, based on the ancient Indian literary text, “The Ramayana.” The musical is performed in English by an international cast including Caucasians, African Americans, LatinX, and South Asians. 

It is a story of duty, honor, love, courage, and revenge told through verse, traditional (classical and folk), and experimental Indian dance and music, along with world genres of musical theatre, opera, contemporary, jazz, ballet, and modern dance. The concept, script, costumes, and music are all original and were workshopped and performed in 2019 in Jersey City and Hoboken. RAMAAVAN is an evolving theatrical experience that appeals to a global audience today.

Though the tale is ancient, the modern-day interpretation of the story challenges the ‘Status Quo.’ Some of the dominant themes include:

Peace, mutual respect, and understanding,

Women’s rights and Shakti (power)

Racism and color consciousness

Cultural representation

Brotherhood and harmony


WHEN: Wednesday, October 19, 2022, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
 
WHERE: Consulate General of India in New York,
3 E 64th St., between Madison and 5th Avenue

Performances will take place from Wednesday, Nov. 2nd to Sunday, Nov. 6th at The American Theatre of Actors – Cullum Theatre at 314 W 54th St. in Times Square. For showtimes and ticket information, please click HERE. To watch select excerpts from the show, please click HERE. For high-resolution photographs from the New Jersey shows, please click HERE. 

Drugs Made In India Are Sparking Safety Concerns

Staff ReporterHealth, Science 0

In the winter of 2019, a number of children living in India’s Jammu region began falling sick with what many thought was a mysterious illness. 

The children, suffering from cough and cold, had been prescribed a cough syrup by local doctors. Instead of recovering, they fell seriously ill, vomiting, running high fever and kidneys shutting down. By the time the mystery was solved, 11 children, aged between two months and six years, had died.

Tests found that three samples of the cough syrup, made by an Indian drug company called Digital Vision, contained diethylene glycol or DEG, an industrial solvent used in the making of paints, ink, brake fluids. Kidney failure is common after consuming this poisonous alcohol. 

India production halted after Gambia child fatalities

Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) put out a global warning over four India-made cough syrups thought to be linked to the deaths of 66 children in The Gambia. Lab analysis of the samples of a syrup made by a 32-year-old firm called Maiden Pharmaceuticals Limited confirmed the presence of “unacceptable amounts” of diethylene glycol and another toxic alcohol called ethylene glycol. 

The tainted drugs and the tragic deaths again shone a spotlight on India’s $42bn – half of the revenues come from exports – drug manufacturing industry. 

Some 3,000 firms operate 10,000 pharmaceutical factories making generics (copies of branded medicines that usually sell for a fraction of their price), over-the-counter medicines, vaccines and ingredients in what is one of the world’s largest drug-making countries. Although India imports 70% of the active ingredient chemicals for its medicines from China, it is trying to make more of them at home. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has championed India as the “pharmacy of the world”. India’s traditional expertise in making generics has helped make it a formidable low-cost maker of drugs and become a global manufacturing base. 

Some 40% of over-the-counter and generic medicines sold in the US and a quarter of all medicines dispensed in the UK come from India. The country supplies some two-thirds of anti-retroviral drugs globally to fight HIV. Outside the USA, India has the most number of drug making plants – 800 – that are compliant with the US health and safety requirements. 

Yet such breathless growth – the industry has been running at a clip of over 9% every year for nearly a decade – has been clouded by allegations of problems of quality and weak regulation. 

Gambia cough syrup scandal: Mothers demand justice

Many believe that India has always battled a flood of counterfeit drugs, mostly sold in small towns and villages. But analysts say the physicians and patients are possibly conflating sub-standard drugs with what they think are fake medicines. State-run drug testing labs in many states are under-funded, short-staffed and poorly equipped. Regulatory oversight and enforcement is unsurprisingly spotty, analysts say. In 2014, India’s top drug regulator famously told a newspaper: “If I follow US standards I will have to shut almost all drug facilities.” 

More than 70 people, mostly children, have died in five separate mass poisoning incidents related to drugs spiked with DEG since 1972. 

In 2013, after a seven-year long investigation, top Indian drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories was ordered to pay a record $500m fine in the US, the biggest handed down to a generic drug maker for improper manufacturing, storing and testing of drugs. 

Official government records reveal that between 2007 and 2020, more than 7,500 drugs sampled in just three of India’s 28 states and three union territories had failed quality tests and had been declared drugs “not of standard quality” or inferior, research by Dinesh Thakur, a former Indian drug executive-turned-public health expert, found. 

These drugs failed tests for not having enough of ingredient chemicals, impaired ability to dissolve in the patients’ blood or were found to be contaminated. 

Each failed sample typically represents a batch of the medicine, which in turn could run into hundreds of thousands of tablets, capsules and injections. “The total number of patients affected by such inferior drugs possibly runs into hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions over the last decade,” says Mr Thakur, co-author of The Truth Pill, a piercing look at drug regulation in India. 

Cough-syrup scandal: How did it end up in The Gambia?

Mr Thakur says he worries that many Indian firms are not following “good manufacturing practices” or GMP, a drug industry term to refer to testing for quality control. He believes that the DEG-related incidents had occurred at home – and now abroad – because some firms “quite often fail to test either the raw materials or the final formulation before shipping it to the market”. 

“Given the sheer quality of drugs detected as “not of standard quality” over the last decade from the open market it is obvious that a large number of manufacturing facilities are completely flouting quality and process control procedures that form the core of ‘good manufacturing practices'” says Mr Thakur. 

That’s not all. Using right to information law, Mr Thakur found many of India’s state-owned drug testing labs lacked key equipment. Drug sampling practices, he noted, date back to a colonial 1875 law where inspectors pick up a small number of random samples from the market. 

India has been debating a law to recall drugs that have been found to be inferior from the market since nearly half a century. “All it has are guidelines, which many state regulators seem to be unaware of. Have you ever heard of a drug recalled in India?” says Mr Thakur. 

It is difficult to understand the scale of the problem – many of India’s drug factories are indeed world-class. Physicians say they largely trust India-made drugs. 

Dr Rahul Baxi, a Mumbai-based diabetologist, told me that only once in recent years he became suspicious about a drug when glucose levels of a patient shot up after he switched off from branded drug to a cheaper generic. 

But he suspects that there could be counterfeit or inferior drugs being sold in small towns and villages. “Many of my patients that come from far flung parts of India buy six months of prescribed drugs from pharmacies in the city because they say they don’t trust drugs available in their areas,” Dr Baxi said.

After the deaths of the children in The Gambia, India claimed that its federal regulator was “robust” and sought more details from the WHO on the causality of the deaths with the exported cough syrup. 

Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates medical products in the US, posts inspection status of firms supplying drugs to the US and warning letters. A spokesperson told me that its policies ensure that “companies – regardless of where the are located – meet the FDA’s strict standards for producing medicines for US patients that are high quality, safe and effective”.

A pharmaceutical industry leader, insisting on anonymity, told me that “although some countries do have very rigid quality standards”, India’s drugs were completely safe. “We are not defending the mishaps,” he said, “but these are aberrations”. Mr Thakur says: “An aberration should only happen once. You can’t play with people’s lives”.  (BBC.COM)

Sri Lankan Author Shehan Karunatilaka Wins 2022 Booker Prize

Staff ReporterEducation 0

The 2022 Booker Prize was given to The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, written by Sri Lanka’s Shehan Karunatilaka. The annual award, which was given Monday evening in London, is for a work of fiction written in English and published in the U.K. and Ireland.

The panel of judges hailed Karunatilaka’s novel as “a searing, mordantly funny satire set amid the murderous mayhem of a Sri Lanka beset by civil war.”

Karunatilaka is one of Sri Lanka’s foremost authors; his first novel, 2011’s Chinaman, was quickly marked as the arrival of a significant literary force. His work has also been published in Rolling Stone, GQ and National Geographic. 

The five other shortlisted nominees for the 2022 Booker Prize were Glory, by NoViolet Bulawayo of Zimbabwe; The Trees, by American novelist Percival Everett; Treacle Walker, by English novelist Alan Garner; Small Things Like These, by Irish author Claire Keegan; and Oh William!, by American novelist Elizabeth Strout.

The Booker Prize includes a £50,000 (over $56,000) award to the winner, as well as £2,500 (about $2800) awarded to each of the six shortlisted authors.

The organization also gives a separate honor, called the International Booker Prize, to a work of fiction translated into English. The 2022 award was made in June to the novel Tomb of Sand by the Indian novelist Geetanjali Shree, which was translated into English by Daisy Rockwell.

Canada Immigration? How Does Express Entry System Work, Explained

Staff ReporterImmigration 0

Canada Express Entry System: Canada’s express entry system manages three major federal economic programs.

Canada’s express entry is an online system used to process applications for skilled workers who wish to immigrate to Canada, thereby helping them to acquire permanent residence status. The express entry system manages three major federal economic programs namely: federal skilled worker (FSW), federal skilled trades (FST) and Canadian experience class (CEC). How to apply for the Canadian express entry system?

There are two steps involved in the application process. The first step is to submit your profile with the documents which include language test results, educational credential assessment report and a passport.

The second step takes place after submission of profile in which a person is required to provide reference letters, additional identity documents, police clearance certificates, and medical examination results. 

What is the eligibility for Canada express entry system?

Possessing university degrees, skilled work experience and moderate proficiency in English are important for Canada express entry candidates. Other than this, the candidates must meet individual requirements for one of the three federal programs that come under the express entry system. 

What are the minimum requirements for application to Canada express entry system?

An individual must have at least one year of work experience in a skilled occupation and be able to demonstrate English skills. Additionally, completion of post-secondary education as per Canadian standards with an assessment is necessary.

New Jersey Chapter Of AAPI Holds Annual Convention 2022

Staff ReporterCulture 0

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin’s New Jersey chapter (AAPI-NJ) held its annual convention gala October 8, 2022, at Imperia in Somerset. Attendees also marked the occasion for celebrating the Festival of Lights – Diwali. More than two hundred guests attended the program, per Dr. Pradip Shah, President of AAPI-NJ. 

Other attendees included Dr. Hetal Gor, RD of AAPI, Dr. Atul Prakash, Vice President of AAPI-NJ, and Dr. Pooja Patel, Secretary of AAPI-NJ and Dr. Jayesh Patel, Treasurer of AAPI-NJ. Several speakers addressed the gathering including Congressman Hon. Frank Pallone Dr. Pradip Shah, Dr. Sudhir Parikh, advisory board member of AAPI-NJ. 

Dr. Pradip Shah outlined the vision of the AAPI-NJ which included but was not limited to, Continuing Medical Education seminars for members, community service included donating blankets, supporting, and helping soup kitchens, and assisting international medical graduates get residency, disease awareness and prevention, women’s health, and encouraging the younger generation of doctors to join the AAPI events. 

Congressman Frank Pallone also outlined the importance of the Indian American community in the U.S. and thanked physicians for their hard work during the pandemic. “We are really trying really hard in Congress to spend money and be up to date for another crisis,” Rep. Pallone said, to have the research and the ability to deal with the crisis better than before. 

Congressman Pallone also said the U.S. Congress is concerned about heart health in the South Asian community, and that he and others are trying to get the bill on this matter passed through the U.S. Senate. It has already been passed through the House of Representatives recently. Dr. Parikh said.  when he was involved in establishing the India Caucus in Congress and how Rep. Pallone was involved in co-founding it. for celebrating Diwali. General Secretary of AAPI-NJ, Dr. Pooja Patel, said “We are looking forward to carry forward the work done by NJ state AAPI.” She encouraged younger physicians to join the organization

With $3 Million Grant SAKHI Launches South Asian Safe Families Initiative

Staff ReporterWomen 0

SAKHI, one of the oldest women’s organizations in the U.S. serving the Indian-American community, announced October 12, 2022, that it has received a “groundbreaking” $3 million award from The Ramesh and Kalpana Bhatia Foundation, with which it plans to launch the South Asian Safe Families Initiative.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Sakhi said in a press release, which made the $3 million grant spread over the next 10 years, particularly appropriate, noting, “this milestone investment will deepen multigenerational healing for South Asian families experiencing gender-based violence.”

Calling it “The largest gift of its kind to any South Asian American social service organization,” Sakhi said the South Asian Safe Families Initiative will focus on supporting South Asian families “through a culturally rooted approach.”

The trauma experienced by the children and families of survivors is multigenerational, Sakhi noted.

“This bold initiative will take the conversation of healing from a siloed, individual experience to one that will bring families closer together and the restorative ripple effects of this investment will be felt for generations,” Kavita Mehra, executive director of Sakhi for South Asian Women is quoted saying in an earlier press release.

“The South Asian Safe Families Initiative aims to radically transform models of healing for survivors of trauma—for generations to come,” the organization said.

SGPC To Set Up International Advisory Board, Offices Overseas To Benefit Sikhs Worldwide

Staff ReporterNews, Religion 0

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex Sikh institution in India, plans to establish an ‘International Sikh Advisory Board’ and its own sub offices in different countries to protect the religious sentiments of Sikhs overseas. 

According to an official statement, the board comprising of Sikh representatives from different countries will work towards resolving issues and grievances of Sikhs abroad while helping the local Gurdwara management committees in activities of Dharam Prachar (preaching of Sikh faith).

This board will make efforts to resolve issues and grievances of Sikhs living in foreign countries and support local gurdwara management committees in preaching the Sikh faith.

This decision was taken in the SGPC’s executive committee meeting held here under the leadership of its president Harjinder Singh Dhami.

During this meeting, an approval was also given to establish sub-offices of the Sikh body in different countries.

After the meeting, Dhami said a number of Sikhs are living across the world and this trend is accelerating. In view of this, the SGPC will establish an international Sikh advisory board.

He said the SGPC will also establish its offices in different countries for direct and easy contact with community members.

He said in the past, the SGPC had started this process in Yuba City of the United States of America, which will be expedited and necessary action will be taken to establish sub-offices in other countries as well. PTI JMS SUN RDK RDK

Diwali At Times Square in New York 2022

Staff ReporterCulture, News 0

The Iconic Times Square at the heart of New York City on Saturday, October 15th was witness to a grand Diwali celebration along with India’s 75th Independence Day with cultural extravaganza depicting the  rich heritage of India, electrified the gathering of hundreds of thousands of thousands of people.

Considered the Biggest Festival of Lights – Diwali, at the Brightest place of World – Times Square, the celebrations in New York offered a showcase of cultural performances, ethnic attractions, local shopping stalls, and mouth-watering Indian cuisine. This two-day celebration of the Hindu festival of lights is a Times Square tradition that began in 2013. It’s an epic event that brought together dance and musical performances, an array of Indian dishes and lightings of the diya—a traditional clay lamp that is meant to attract Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. 

Diwali, the ancient festival of lights, has long been a unique celebration of new beginnings with diyas (clay lamps), fireworks, paper lanterns and bonfires. “Diwali at Times Square” is clearly one of the most spectacular Indian cultural events in Times Square, New York showcasing the vibrant Indian culture to metropolitan NYC. The event started off in 2013 and continues to grow stronger and better each year. 

This celebration was full of international musical showcases, Bollywood stars performing live, Indian bazaars and flea markets, delicious Indian food, and yes, how can we miss the colorful lights & fireworks. Various live events bring an otherworldly charm to Times Square that is hard to pass by and a great loss to miss!

The organizer of this grand event is a well-known event management company in the US called ASB communications. The producer of this event is Ms. Neeta Bhasin – a prominent public figure – has consistently arranged such gatherings and other events in the past and continues to do so successfully. The motto is to connect all the south Asians, create a strong bond, contribute to society, and retain our cultural identity in a foreign land. 

AR Helping Hands Foundation in association with Diwali at Times Square organization, EventGuru Inc. organized the 7th annual Diwali at Times Square this year. Diwali at Times Square is the New York City celebration of the holiday, bringing the vibrant Indian tradition to metropolitan New York. The day long festival is full of international musical showcases, Bollywood stars, delicious Indian food and of course, colorful lights.

Diwali festival is all about sharing happiness and showing your love and respect for your family and friends. Hence the main objective of Diwali at Times Square is to share this joy with the world and celebrate the diversity of India through art, culture, and food. This event is truly a harbinger of peace, harmony, and togetherness.

“Diwali at Times Square 2022 is overwhelmed with joy after such a grand celebration of Diwali. We are grateful for everyone who came to grace this event and make it even more meaningful. We hope you also enjoyed the celebration of Indian heritage with a twist of the modern urban culture of NYC.  Diwali at Times Square is more pumped than ever to come back next year!,” said Neet Bhasin, the main organizer of the vent.

Why Ujjain’s Mahakal Mandir Holds Special Significance in Hinduism

Staff ReporterReligion 0

The divinity associated with Ujjain is centred around ‘Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga’ placed inside Mahakaleshwar Temple, also known as Mahakal Mandir, dedicated to Hindu deity Shiva 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first phase of Mahakaleshwar Corridor in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh last week, dedicating the ambitious Rs 856-crore project to the country.

Before he unveiled the large shivling covered in strands of sacred red threads, amid Vedic chants to mark the inauguration, the prime minister performed puja with rituals at the famous Mahakaleshwar Temple, which houses one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Hindu deity Shiva.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inaugurated the first phase of Mahakaleshwar Corridor in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, dedicating the ambitious Rs 856-crore project to the country.

Before he unveiled the large shivling covered in strands of sacred red threads, amid Vedic chants to mark the inauguration, the prime minister performed puja with rituals at the famous Mahakaleshwar Temple, which houses one of the 12 jyotirlingas of Hindu deity Shiva.

The divinity associated with the holy city of Ujjain is centred around the Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga placed inside the temple also known as Mahakal Mandir. The temple is dedicated to Hindu deity Shiva, believed to be the god of time and death. He is called Mahakaleshwar, made up of the two meanings of the word kaal – time and death.

These jyotirlingas, or shrines, are believed to be the most sacred abodes of Shiva. According to the Puranas, the Hindu god pierced the world as an endless pillar of light called the jyotirlinga. Barring the the Mahakaleshwar jyotirlinga in Ujjain, the other 11 jyotirlinga sites are Somnath and Dwarka’s Nageswar in Gujarat; Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andhra Pradesh; Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh; Kedarnath in Uttarakhand; Bhimashankar, Triambakeshwar and Aurangabad’s Grishneshwar in Maharashtra; Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh; Baidyanath Temple in Jharkhand’s Deoghar; and Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu.

Located on the banks of Shipra river, considered holy, this temple in Ujjain is among the most sacred Shiva temples in the country. Shiva, the Hindu god of time and death, is known to reign supreme in Ujjain, as per accounts of local legends that call him the city’s chief deity. Hence, the city’s life and its people are dominated by the essence of Mahakal signifying its bond with ancient Hindu traditions.

The city has other famous and ancient temples as well, and one of the oldest bathing ghats, Ram Ghat, is one of the venues for the Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage held every 12 years.

Why is the ‘Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga’ most prominent?

The Puranas and other holy scriptures in Hinduism have a vivid description of the glory of this jyotirlinga and it is also mentioned in many ancient Indian texts, including a poetic text, Meghadutam, composed by Kalidasa in the 4th century.

Many believe that the lingam (another term used for shivling) in Ujjain is swayambhu, which means it is naturally occurring or even “self-manifested”. Also known as dakshinamukhi, this is the only jyotirlinga facing the south while the other 11 face east. This is known to be a unique feature linked to the tantric traditions of Shiva worship in Hinduism, and is found only in Mahakaleshwar.

According to a report in The Indian Express, the shivling faces south as the direction of death is believed to be the south. A local legend says an Ujjain king by the name of Chandrasena was a Shiva devotee and so strong was his devotion that the god appeared in his Mahakal form and destroyed his enemies, as per the report. Shiva then agreed to reside in the city, on request of his devotees, and became its chief deity.

What is the significance of Mahakal temple’s location?

Popularly known as the Greenwich of India, Ujjain is geographically located at a spot where the zero meridian of longitude (Madhyarekha) and Tropic of Cancer (Karkavrutta) intersect. Many religious places in the city are somehow connected to time. Ujjain’s connection to astronomy, hence, shows how the Shiva temple here is dedicated to Mahakal, the god of time.

It is, however, difficult to tell when the temple first came into existence. It may be assigned to the pre-historic period as the Puranas say it was first established by Prajapita Brahma. According to the official website of the Mahakaleshwar Temple, there is a reference to the appointment of Kumarasena, a prince, by king Chanda Pradyota in 6th century BC for looking after the law and order situation of Mahakal temple. References in several ancient Indian texts describe the temple as magnificent with its foundation and platform built of stone while the temple rested on wooden pillars, as per the website.

According to information available, the present five-storeyed form of the temple was built by Maratha general Ranoji Shinde in 1734.

What is the tradition of ‘Bhasm Aarti’?

Many who visit Ujjain and its sacred sites count the unique ritual of Bhasm Aarti in the Mahakaleshwar Temple as being one of the major attractions. The aarti begins at 4 am daily and can be attended by anyone. It is preceded by an elaborate hour-long process of bathing and decorating the idol, and drawing a face of “divinity” on it.

With chants of Har har Mahadev and Om namah shivaya ringing in the air accompanied by the clanging of bells, the aarti becomes a divine experience. According to the official website of the Madhya Pradesh tourism department, the Bhasm Aarti was performed with ash from the first

Jan. 6 Panel Subpoenas Trump To Testify, After Exposing His Role In Insurrection

Staff ReporterUSA 0

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol voted to subpoena former President Donald Trump during a public hearing on October 13th. The House Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously to subpoena former President Donald Trump, demanding his personal testimony as it unveiled startling new video and described his multi-part plan to overturn his 2020 election loss, which led to his supporters’ fierce assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Three phrases were echoed over and over again on Thursday by the panel’s nine members, who repeatedly mentioned Trump’s motivation, intent or state of mind — a callout to elements prosecutors would need to demonstrate if they choose to pursue charges against Trump. 

With alarming messages from the U.S. Secret Service warning of violence and vivid new video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders pleading for help, the panel on Thursday showed the raw desperation at the Capitol. Using language frequently seen in criminal indictments, the panel said Trump had acted in a “premeditated” way before Jan. 6, 2021, despite countless aides and officials telling him he had lost.

Trump is almost certain to fight the subpoena and decline to testify. On his social media outlet he blasted members for not asking him earlier — though he didn’t say he would have complied — and called the panel “a total BUST.”

“We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6′s central player,” said Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the committee’s vice chair, ahead of the vote.

In the committee’s 10th public session, just weeks before the congressional midterm elections, the panel summed up Trump’s “staggering betrayal” of his oath of office, as Chairman Bennie Thompson put it, describing the then-president’s unprecedented attempt to stop Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory.

While the effort to subpoena Trump may languish, more a nod to history than an effective summons, the committee has made clear it is considering whether to send its findings in a criminal referral to the Justice Department.

In one of its most riveting exhibits, the panel showed previously unseen footage of congressional leaders phoning for help during the assault as Trump refused to call off the mob.

Pelosi can be seen on a call with the governor of neighboring Virginia, explaining as she shelters with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and others that the governor of Maryland has also been contacted. Later, the video shows Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and other GOP leaders as the group asks the Defense Department for help.

“They’re breaking the law in many different ways,” Pelosi says at one point. “And quite frankly, much of it at the instigation of the president of the United States.”

The footage also portrays Vice President Mike Pence — not Trump — stepping in to help calm the violence, telling Pelosi and the others he has spoken with Capitol Police, as Congress plans to resume its session that night to certify Biden’s election. The video was from Pelosi’s daughter, Alexandra, a documentary filmmaker.

In never-before-seen Secret Service messages, the panel produced evidence that extremist groups provided the muscle in the fight for Trump’s presidency, planning weeks before the attack to send a violent force to Washington.

The Secret Service warned in a Dec. 26, 2020, email of a tip that members of the right-wing Proud Boys planned to outnumber the police in a march in Washington on Jan. 6. “It felt like the calm before the storm,” one Secret Service agent wrote in a group chat.

The committee argued in its final hearing before the midterm elections that Trump was directly involved in the bid to overturn the 2020 election, with the panel presenting new evidence that Trump knew he had lost but had a plan to declare victory no matter the election result. The panel also showed previously unseen footage of congressional leaders taking refuge amid the violence as the panel detailed Trump’s inaction during the attack. The committee is now working to present a final report by the end of the year on whether to make any criminal referrals to the Justice Department.  

“I think they were trying to hand the Justice Department all the evidence on a silver platter,” said Ryan Goodman, co-director of the Reiss Center on Law and Security at the New York University School of Law. 

“I do think that it’s very significant information for a Justice Department with much more powerful tools to pursue a full-blown investigation. I do think that they did a very good job of handing that off, and, in a certain sense, showing what a closing argument can look like in a powerful way.”  

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) the committee’s vice chairwoman, noted that while it was up to the Department of Justice to make prosecutorial calls, the panel “may ultimately decide to make a series of criminal referrals” to them. 

“We have sufficient information to consider criminal referrals for multiple individuals and to recommend a range of legislative proposals to guard against another Jan. 6,” she said. 

While all prosecutions require demonstrating someone did something illegal, many of the crimes that would be the most likely fit for Trump’s behavior require an additional element of proving intent. 

“There was considerable information presented yet again yesterday, and some new information presented that is pertinent to ongoing Justice Department investigations,” said David Laufman, who worked in leadership roles in the National Security Division in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and also represented two Capitol Police officers who testified before the Jan. 6 panel.   

“Who in the White House or Trump world knew what and when — that may factor into investigative actions and possibly charging decisions on issues like seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, having to do with the presentation of false slates of electors, conspiracies to obstruct an official proceeding,” Laufman added. 

“Every piece of connective tissue that reaches Trump or people close to him with regard to those events is going to factor into investigative findings and recommendations by the line prosecutors on these cases.” 

Amid its recap of what it laid out in its prior eight hearings, the panel offered new evidence that Trump acknowledged to aides that he lost the election and further details about the extent to which Trump allies discussed that he should claim victory before all the votes were counted. 

During the hearing, the committee sought to show how much Trump was advised to claim he won the election, something he heard from confidants Roger Stone and Steve Bannon, and in a newly revealed email from conservative activist and Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton.  

In the Oct. 31 email – sent four days before the election – Fitton included language encouraging Trump to say, “We had an election today — and I won.” The email also fixates on a faulty deadline, suggesting that Trump say “according to the ballots counted by the Election Day deadline.”  

Election law requires counting all ballots, including absentee ballots, which are often counted after Election Day. Trump’s plan to claim victory came after he repeatedly urged his supporters to only vote in person. 

Former Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale also told the committee Trump hatched plans to claim victory on election night as far back as July.  “The evidence presented yesterday was very compelling to show that the false claims of a stolen election were planned even before Election Day. That pre-meditation is very important to proving a conspiracy. The committee has certainly shown some evidence of a conspiracy to defraud the United States,” Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. Attorney, told the media,   

The DOJ has assembled a grand jury to hear evidence related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The nod to the Department of Justice in the broader pitch for accountability for Trump comes from a panel whose members and staff are largely attorneys. 

“On a day-to-day level [this investigation has] been conducted by former Department of Justice prosecutors. That has a lot to do with the professionalism and accomplishments of this investigation,” Laufman said.  

“Among the best decisions that [Chairman] Bennie Thompson [D-Miss.] and Liz Cheney made was to facilitate the hiring of former prosecutors who, while dedicated to supporting the committee and its interests, surely, in the back of their minds, in the back of the Select Committee’s minds, are trying to ensure that everything they do could be a potential value to the Department of Justice, and from time to time to maybe gently put their finger in the department’s eyes to try to goad them into at least pursuing logical investigative steps to consider ultimately whether to bring charges against Trump.”

Russia Stands Isolated As UN General Assembly Condemns Annexation Of Parts Of Ukraine

Staff ReporterWorld 0

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly condemned Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine and called on all countries not to recognize the move, strengthening a diplomatic international isolation of Moscow since it invaded its neighbor.

The United Nations General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to condemn Russia’s attempts to annex four regions of Ukraine.  The resolution was supported by 143 countries, while 35 states – including China and India – abstained. In addition to Russia, only four countries rejected the vote, namely Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Nicaragua.  Although symbolic, it was the highest number of votes against Russia since the invasion. 

India’s abstention was in keeping with its voting posture on all substantive Ukraine-related resolutions since the war began. It, however, expressed deep concern at the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, called for an immediate ceasefire, reiterated its traditional position in favor of peace, diplomacy, and dialogue, and advocated keeping diplomatic channels open. 

India said it was abstaining since there were “other pressing issues” not covered adequately by the resolution.  The non-binding resolution, titled “Territorial Integrity of Ukraine: Defending the Principles of the UN Charter”, was brought to the UNGA after the Russians vetoed a similar text condemning its referendum and annexation at the UN Security Council. 

The UN resolution calls on the international community not to recognize any of Russia’s annexation claims and demands its “immediate reversal”. It welcomes and “expresses its strong support” for efforts to de-escalate the conflict through negotiation. 

“It’s amazing,” Ukraine’s U.N. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya told reporters after the vote as he stood next to U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who said the result showed Russia could not intimidate the world. “Today it is Russia invading Ukraine. But tomorrow it could be another nation whose territory is violated. It could be you. You could be next. What would you expect from this chamber?” Thomas-Greenfield told the General Assembly before the vote.

Moscow in September proclaimed its annexation of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia – after staging what it called referendums. Ukraine and allies have denounced the votes as illegal and coercive. Last week, in a ceremony in the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin signed documents to make the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson part of Russia. The agreements were signed with the Moscow-installed leaders of the four regions, and came after self-proclaimed referendums in the areas that were denounced as a “sham” by the West. 

China and India, which have attempted to remain neutral on the conflict, parties that abstained from the vote included 19 nations in Africa. Many African countries have avoided taking sides in the war – which has been seen as a reflection of efforts to maintain longstanding trade ties, or of historic non-alignment policies. 

Three of four states that were visited by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in July – Congo-Brazzaville, Ethiopia and Uganda – chose to abstain. Meanwhile, all four nations that featured on a recent trip by Ukraine’s own foreign minister – Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya and Senegal – voted at the UN to condemn Russia.

Dmytro Kuleba made his tour in an apparent effort to counter Russian influence in Africa, although he cut short his visit after major Ukrainian cities came under missile fire on Monday. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was grateful to the countries that did support the resolution. “The world had its say – [Russia’s] attempts at annexation is [sic] worthless and will never be recognised by free nations,” he tweeted, adding that Ukraine would “return all its lands”. 

US President Joe Biden said the vote sent a “clear message” to Moscow.  “The stakes of this conflict are clear to all, and the world has sent a clear message in response – Russia cannot erase a sovereign state from the map,” he said. 

Dame Barbara Woodward, Britain’s ambassador to the UN, said Russia had failed on the battlefield and at the UN, adding that countries had united to defend the world body’s charter.  “Russia has isolated itself, but Russia alone can stop the suffering. The time to end the war is now,” she said. 

“All countries deserve respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, told the New York Times. She added that “support should be given to all efforts that are conducive to peacefully resolving the crisis.”

“India is deeply concerned at the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, including targeting of infrastructure and deaths of civilians,” said Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

China abstained on Wednesday because it did not believe the resolution will be helpful, China’s Deputy U.N. Ambassador Geng Shuang said. “Any action taken by the General Assembly should be conducive to the de-escalation of the situation, to be conducive to the early resumption of dialogue and should be conducive to the promotion of a political solution to this crisis,” he said.

That’s a far cry from the US condemnation of the strikes, and Axios notes that neither statement contains “strong criticism” of the Russian missile strikes. But the “statements are the latest indicator that both countries are continuing to distance themselves from Russia as the war in Ukraine drags on,” per the story. 

Both countries have provided crucial economic support to Moscow in recent months by buying more Russian oil as European nations do the opposite, notes the Times. A story at Politico, meanwhile, notes that calls are growing for India and China to make clear to Putin that any kind of nuclear strike should be off the table. The Russian leader has refused to rule that out.

Earlier, India on Monday, Oct. 10, 2022, voted to reject Russia’s call to hold a secret ballot at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a draft resolution to condemn Moscow’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four regions in Ukraine. Albania requested an open vote after Russia proposed a secret ballot on the resolution on Ukraine. India voted in favor of a procedural vote called by Albania. The Albanian proposal received 107 votes in favour, with 13 countries opposed to the vote and 39 abstentions. Twenty-four countries including China, Iran and Russia did not vote.

Albanian diplomat while dismissing the proposal said that “conducting secret ballot will undermine the practices of assembly.” Speaking first at the emergency meeting, Ukraine’s envoy Sergiy Kyslytsya told members states that he had already lost family members to Russian aggression. He said that around 84 missiles and around two dozen drones had deliberately targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure during Monday’s multiple attacks on Ukrainian cities, including schools and universities.

“The entire world has once again, seen the true face of the terrorist State that kills our people. Suffering defeats on the battlefield, Russia takes it out on the peaceful residents of Ukrainian cities,” he said.

The Ukrainian envoy said that voting for the draft resolution would be “for each country, for each of our citizens, for your families, for our children – a vote for justice”. He accused Ukraine of an act of terrorism in “sabotaging” Russia’s bridge to Crimea, adding that Russia could not stand by and let Ukraine act “with impunity”. This vote comes after Russia conducted large-scale strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and other locations on Monday, which drew condemnation from several countries.

UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was deeply shocked and represented “another unacceptable escalation” of the war. The strikes which have reportedly caused widespread damage to civilian areas and led to dozens of deaths and injuries showed that “as always”, civilians were paying the highest price for Russia’s invasion of February 24, the statement released by the UN Spokesperson added.

The General Assembly vote was triggered after Russia used its veto power to prevent action at the Security Council – the body in charge of maintaining international peace and security. As permanent members, China, the United States, France and the United Kingdom also hold vetoes on the council.  There have been calls for Russia to be stripped of its veto power after the Ukraine invasion.

Amitabh Bachchan, “Greatest Actor Of Our Time,” Says Mohanlal

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Calling Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan the “greatest actor of our time”, Malayalam top star Mohanlal has said that the legendary actor’s dedication to work was an inspiration to people of all generations.

Calling Amitabh the “greatest actor of our time”, Mohanlal said that he had enriched Indian cinema and his presence continued to do so. His endearing personality coupled with compassionate behaviour, charitable actions and humble disposition are admirable qualities that stand out. His dedication to work is an inspiration for all generations. His baritone voice and the various characters that he has played have won for him the admiration and love of a whole nation,” the Malayalam star said.

Expressing his birthday wishes to Amitabh Bachchan, who celebrated his 80th birthday, Mohanlal, through a video clip which he posted on Twitter, said Amitabh Bachchan’s name “evokes a gamut of emotions in the whole country.”

Stating that he had been fortunate to work with the Shahenshah of Bollywood in two films, Mohanlal said that the honor of sharing screen space with Amitabh is one of the highlights of his career.
 “A wonderful human being, he’s encouraging and patient with his co-stars,” Mohanal said and wished the legendary actor good health, happiness and many more years of continued service to Indian cinema.

It’s worth remembering, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had described the actor as one of the “greatest talents” of our time. Brown spoke glowingly of the Bollywood mega star as he presented him with the keys for a Mobile Diabetes Unit at a charity dinner.

“It is a pleasure to be here with Amitabh Bachchan. I talked to him just as we arrived. I was saying that I had 4 million viewers in a TV interview. I asked how many people will watch his next film and he said 500 million people. That shows the greatness of this man,” Brown said.

Amitabh Bachchan is a Bollywood actor who, in 1969, debuted in Saat Hindustani. His role in 1972’s Zanjeer made him an action movie star. In the 1980s, Bachchan held a seat in the Indian Parliament. In the 1990s, he started his own production company. He returned to acting in 1997, with Mrityudaata. In 2000, he began hosting the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Amitabh Harivansh Bachchan, best known as Amitabh Bachchan, was born in Allahabad, India on October 11, 1942. India was still a British colony at the time, and would not achieve independence until five years later. Bachchan’s father was the renowned Hindi poet Dr. Harivansh Rai. His mother, Teji Bachchan, was a Sikh socialite. He has one younger brother, named Ajitabh.

Bachchan went to Sherwood College boarding school before enrolling in Delhi University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. Once he graduated, he became a freight broker in Calcutta. After a few years in Calcutta, Bachchan was ready for a change. He decided to move to Bombay and take a stab at Bollywood show business. By this time, India had been independent for nearly two decades, and Hindi cinema was thriving.

Bachchan married movie actress Jaya Bhaduri in 1973. The couple have two children, a daughter and a son. Their daughter, Shweta Bachchan Nanda, is married to industrialist Nikhil Nanda, whose grandfather was the film director Raj Kapoor. Bachchan and Bhaduri’s son, Abhishek Bachchan, is also an actor and is married to actress Aishwarya Rai.

Describing Tulsi Gabbard Leaving Democratic Party As “Unfortunate,” Dr. Sampat Shivangi Says, Gabbard May Join Republican Party, Likely VP Candidate In 2024

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Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu woman to be elected to the U.S. Congress, announced October 11, 2022, she is quitting the Democratic Party because it is dividing the country along racial lines. “I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party – which is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness,” Gabbard said in a press release and on a YouTube video.

Tulsi Gabbard said, she is leaving the Democratic Party, denouncing it as an “elitist cabal of war mongers,” while calling upon other “common sense independent-minded Democrats” to exit with her, media reports said.

“I can no longer remain in today’s Democratic Party that is now under the complete control of an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness, who divide us by racialising every issue & stoke anti-white racism, actively work to undermine our God-given freedoms, are hostile to people of faith & spirituality, demonize the police & protect criminals at the expense of law-abiding Americans, believe in open borders, weaponize the national security state to go after political opponents, and above all, dragging us ever closer to nuclear war,” Gabbard said, ABC News reported.

Gabbard represented Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District from 2013 to 2021 as a Democrat, and in 2020 she mounted an unsuccessful bid for the party’s presidential nomination. In in a video posted to Twitter on October12th, she claimed that the party she’s exiting stands for the “powerful elite,” not the people, ABC News reported. “If you can no longer stomach the direction that the so called woke Democratic Party ideologues are taking our country. I invite you to join me,” she said.

Chief among the reasons her 20-year stint as a member of the Democratic Party will be cut short, she said, is her fear that “President (Joe) Biden and Democratic Party elites have pushed us to the precipice of nuclear war, risking starting World War III and destroying the world as we know it”. 

Gabbard who is an Iraq War veteran has served in 3 deployments to the Middle East and Africa. She currently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves working as a Civil Affairs Office.

Gabbard was first elected to public office in the Hawaii State House of Representatives when she was 21 years old, enlisted in the Army National Guard following the 9/11 attacks, and volunteered to deploy to Iraq with the 29th Brigade Combat Team where she served in a medical unit, noted a press release from her office.

After returning home in 2006, Gabbard worked in the U.S. Senate as a legislative aide to the late Senator from Hawaii Danny Akaka, who was Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. She then volunteered for a second Middle East deployment as a Platoon Leader.

“I believe in a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. Unfortunately, today’s Democratic Party does not. Instead, it stands for a government of, by, and for the powerful elite.” She urged like-minded people to also leave the Democratic Party.

She recently launched a podcast, “The Tulsi Gabbard Show” where she also announced her decision to leave the Democratic Party. Sections of the Indian-American community welcomed her election as the first Hindu to be in the lower house, and she was a frequent invitee to events organized by them.

“It is unfortunate that Democrats are losing a star of the party and a nation,” said Dr. Sampat Shivangi, National President of Indian American Forum. “A US Presidential candidate is leaving her party of several decades, is shocking. Her differences of opinions and strategies with Clintons is an open secret, which ultimately culminated in her departure.  It is not a surprising that she was seen more on Fox News, is no co incident. Many knew her inklings and it was matter of time for her departure from Democratic Party which is no surprise at all.” 

Describing his long association with Gabbard, Dr. Shivangi, a veteran Republican Party leader and physician by profession, said, “I knew her well. She was the only Hindu congresswoman in US Congress a strong supporter of India and close friend of Modiji and India.  It was my honor and proud moment for me to introduce and announce her candidacy as US national Democratic Party Presidential candidate in Los Angels , California. 

Stating his thoughts on Gabard’s future plans, Dr. Shivangi said, “It has been speculated that she may join US Republican Party and opt for top post including as a VP if not a Presidential candidate.  Time will tell.”

India To Priorities Strengthening Of Multilateral Bodies During Its G-20 Presidency

Staff ReporterIndia 0

Strengthening multilateral institutions will be a priority for India in the year-long presidency of the G-20 group of the developed and developing nations that it assumes in coming December, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said at the US think tank on Tuesday.

The minister, who is in Washington DC for the annual meetings of the World Bank Group, spoke on a wide-range of issues including India’s growth, whose robustness was testified in an IMF report released earlier in the day, the future of reforms and challenges and risks facing India, primarily, in her telling, energy prices and the supply of fertilizers.

“Multi-lateral institutions need to be strengthened, their capacity to deal with pandemics or any such future stressful global developments will have to be battered,” Sitharaman said. India takes over the rotational presidency from Indonesia.

In the last few decades, she added, “institutions existed but problems remain and solutions are not coming through them”.

Asked if she would like to see newer institutions instead, Sitharaman said that she is not against new institutions but she would like to see the improvement of the effectiveness of the existing bodies based on lessons learnt.

India has been calling for the reform of the global multilateral platforms such at the UN Security Council, the IMF and the World Bank to accord more authority and importance to emerging powers. India is seeking a permanent membership in a reformed and expanded UNSC, for instance.

The minister also stressed the need, in the context of the G-20 presidency, for finance to deal with natural disasters that are “far more frequent than we could imagine”. She brought the issue of climate finance, which required developed countries to contribute to the fund that will help developing and less developed countries deal with carbon gas emissions.

Sitharaman said that the climate finance “has not been smooth” despite many meetings. She was referring to the Green Climate Fund, which was created at the Cancun COP (Conference of the Parties) in 2016. But the developed countries have been slow to honour their commitments.

The G-20 group had proven effective in the past. She cited the two-pillar solution to global taxation of multinational companies as an example. (IANS)

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There are many approaches to find international women. The web is 1 of the most extremely popular, and several websites out there that help you find the perfect match. However , it is not necessarily always easy to choose the best online dating site. Below are a few things you should think about when ever selecting the most suitable site for everyone.

You will find thousands of dating sites to choose from. Even though might be a bad deal, you will also find a few which have been worth your time and energy. It is a good plan to choose a web site that concentrates on your specific part of fascination. For example , you may be interested in locating a mail buy bride. A variety of specialized sites exist, and you will search for a appropriate site using a Google search. Additionally , you can use one or two simple filters to narrow down your search.

The web has made finding international women incredibly easier than it was once. Depending on your preferences, you can seem for women like us from various countries, such as China, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, plus the US. Among the most common reasons why guys are attracted to overseas ladies is that they are considered minimal and nurturing.

In the Internet, the best way to find overseas women is usually to look for a highly regarded and legitimate online dating website. To do this, you can sign up for a free demo period and try out the services offered. Once you have signed up, it is a good idea to upgrade your special plan. This will allow you to receive a handful of more credit and enjoy a couple of extra features.

The Internet presents several advantages, mainly because this allows you to find the best woman at the click of a button. Contrary to a real life meeting, you can chat with many women within just minutes. Furthermore, you can select your language of preference and vietnamese mail order wives possibly send all of them gifts.

Although the Net has been established as being a successful medium for finding ladies, it is nonetheless not a surefire way to find love. Specifically if you are looking for a long-term romance, it is important to create your choice carefully. You should also be cautious of sites that http://freightlanegroup.com/2020/02/25/going-out-with-a-feminist-is-being-true-to-yourself-a-must/ have a superior percentage of users right from a single region, as these are usually a scam. Last but not least, you should research your options before signing up. By examining up on the most used dating sites, it will be possible to decide which can be the best place for yourself.

Due to this fact, you will not only manage to find the most appropriate associates, but you should be able to find the hottest and the most eligible girls in your area. Thankfully, most of these women of all ages will be wanting to meet guys from overseas. Besides, the cultural distinctions will be less likely to get an issue, when compared to standard american counterparts. Whether interested in a mail buy bride, a casual fling, or perhaps an erotic contact, the net has the back.

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There is a wide variety of wedding customs in The japanese. Some have been adopted out of western customs and some continue to be original Japanese. The most famous ceremonies will be held at Shinto shrines, and usually require a lot of formality, particularly when it comes to the bride and groom.

A typical Shinto commemoration begins which has a purification and an announcement to the gods and state of mind of the shrine. The bridegroom and star of the event take three sips of reason from three numerous sake cups of (known mainly because sansankudo), which symbolizes a new bond university between the few.

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The sharing of sake is one of the oldest Japanese marriage traditions and still takes place today. This can be a beautiful way to exhibit respect for the purpose of the groom’s and bride’s parents, as well as to create a family connect between the two families.

Traditionally the soon-to-be husband and new bride exchange gifts, including a shiraga, a bond of hemp that represents a wish for an extended and cheerful marital life. They also exchange a fan, which is said to work for wealth and progress.

An alternative common wedding tradition is the uchikake kimono, which is a patterned brocade kimono that the groom and woman wear at the reception. https://pairedlife.com/dating/good-speed-dating-questions This style of kimono has been applied since the 18th century and it is considered to be a symbol of fidelity.

In addition to kimono, a traditional Japanese relationship with japanese woman bridal sexy japanese women attire includes a tsunokakushi, a white cotton hood that covers the bukin takashimada (bun) in the bride’s hair. This kind of headdress is mostly a way to tribute the bride’s parents.

An oversized do not lik is another traditional wedding item for the bride. This hat is made from white man made fibre and can be worn over a bun, or rather than a veil.

A wedding attire is also a regular part of the wedding outfit, nonetheless it has evolved after some time. Some modern brides choose a more Western-style dress rather than kimono.

Additional customs include a yui-no, or pre-wedding banquet to celebrate the couple’s romance and their desires for the future. The yui-no is also the best opportunity to exchange gifts, and this is one of the most crucial events within a Japanese marriage.

Various weddings in Japan take place at Shinto shrines. These are generally small , personal affairs that are typically went to by close family members and friends.

The ceremony alone is very intimate and can be incredibly quiet. The bride and groom are usually the only kinds in presence.

This is because the Japanese don’t like to have a large number of people inside the same place at any one time. This makes it complex for everyone to see the other person and communicate properly, thus they tend to keep the number of friends to a minimum.

Normally, invitations to Western weddings will be sent out through postal mail. In the envelope, a postcard is roofed that requires whether you are likely to attend.

It is extremely important to complete the postcard correctly if you wish to receive a remedy. Otherwise, may very well not be able to navigate to the wedding!

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India Can Lead G20 On Education, Climate And Debt Sustainability: World Bank President

Staff ReporterIndia, Environment 0

World Bank President David Malpass points to India’s involvement in restructuring debts in Sri Lanka and it being a major creditor to African nations; calls the country a leader in education 

Debt sustainability, education, and climate action are three areas of potential for India when it takes on the presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) in December this year, according to World Bank President David Malpass.

“There’s a potential focus on debt,” Mr. Malpass told reporters on a Friday morning briefing call ahead of the World Bank IMF Annual Meetings here in Washington.

“I think the world is at a point where there can be progress made for a more effective common framework,” he said, highlighting the fact that India is a creditor for Sri Lanka and also some of the “heavily indebted countries of Africa”. India has provided some $4 billion in assistance to Sri Lanka this year and is involved with restructuring its debt.

“So as G20 Chair [sic] India has an opportunity there,” Mr. Malpass said. His comments on debt sustainability being a priority echo remarks made by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his United Nations and U.S. visit that concluded last week.

“I’ve spoken with Prime Minister Modi about that and …he… and India is aware of there being debt distress in countries near it as well, so it’s very relevant to India,” Mr. Malpass said.

The World Bank’s president said there had been a very concerning increase in education poverty — with 70% of children in developing countries unable to read the basic texts — and that India could play a leadership role in education. He went on to describe the backsliding in education caused by COVID-19 school closures, including children losing interest because they could not keep up with their grade/class, and the decline in educational spending.

“For India’s G20, this is a big opportunity. India’s been a leader in education,” Mr. Malpass said, adding that climate too would be a major focus, as advanced and developing countries work on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate issues 

“You’ll see the importance of [climate change] adaptation for many of the countries in terms of saving lives on the ground. That’ll be a focus of [the November 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference in] Sharm el Sheikh and it’s also incredibly important for India and for the G20 as a whole,” Mr. Malpass said.

In terms of his assessment of the Indian economy, Mr. Malpass said India had suffered from rising interest rates and inflation, globally, as well as climate events . However, expansion of the social safety net during the COVID pandemic was a mitigating factor as was digitisation, Mr. Malpass said. The World Bank has downgraded India’s growth estimate for FY22-23 by 1 percentage point to 6.5%.

86% Of Global CEOs Expect Recession In 2023: KPMG Survey

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Top global CEOs expect the recession to be mild and shorter, according to a survey by KPMG. As per KPMG 2022 CEO Outlook, 86 per cent of CEOs surveyed believe a recession over the next 12 months will happen, but 58 per cent feel it will be mild. The risk of recession has risen in the last few months as central banks across the world are hiking interest rates to contain super-hot inflation caused by a combination of factors such as the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.   

A survey of more than 1,300 chief executive officers (CEOs) at the world’s largest businesses reveals that over the next year, 86% of these global leaders anticipate a recession to hit.

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These leaders were asked about their strategies and outlook during the survey. Over the next year, more than 8 out of 10 (86%) global CEOs anticipate a recession to hit, with 71% predicting it will impact company earnings by up to 10 per cent, said the survey.

Most of the top executives are of the opinion that the recession will make the post-pandemic recovery difficult. As per the survey, 73 per cent of CEOs believe the recession will upend anticipated growth over the next three years, and 75 per cent also believe a recession will make post-pandemic recovery harder. 

“71 percent of CEOs predict a recession will impact company earnings by up to 10 per cent over the next 12 months,” the survey stated.

A strong majority of senior executives believe that a recession will disrupt anticipated growth (73%). However, three-quarters (76%) have already taken precautionary steps ahead of a looming recession, it added.

Despite those concerns, senior executives also feel markedly more confident about the resilience of the economy over the next six months (73%) than they did in February (60 per cent), when KPMG surveyed 500 CEOs for its CEO Outlook Pulse survey.

Further, 71% of leaders are confident about the global economy’s growth prospects over the next three years (up from 60% in early 2022) and nearly 9 in 10 (85%) are confident about their organization’s growth over the next three years.

“Tested by enormous challenges in quick succession — a global pandemic, inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions — it’s encouraging that CEOs, surveyed in our 2022 CEO Outlook, were confident in their companies’ resilience and relatively optimistic in their own growth prospects,” said Bill Thomas, global chairman and CEO, KPMG.

The Role Of Alternative Social Media In The News And Information Environment

Staff ReporterMedia 0

Free speech ideals, heated political themes prevail on these sites, which draw praise from their users and skepticism from other Americans

In recent years, several new options have emerged in the social media universe, many of which explicitly present themselves as alternatives to more established social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – especially by opposing free speech restrictions they say are rife at those sites.

These newer sites have created a small but satisfied community of news consumers, many of whom say one of the major reasons they are there is to stay informed about current events, according to a new Pew Research Center study. The study included a survey of U.S. adults along with an audit of seven alternative social media sites – BitChute, Gab, Gettr, Parler, Rumble, Telegram and Truth Social – and a detailed analysis of prominent accounts and content across them.

Although fewer than one-in-ten Americans say they use any of these sites for news, most who do say they have found a community of like-minded people there. And news consumers on the four sites with large enough numbers to be analyzed individually – Parler, Rumble, Telegram and Truth Social – largely say they are satisfied with their experience getting news on the sites, that they find the information there to be mostly accurate, and that the discussions are mostly friendly.

At the same time, however, the study finds signs that these sites may be another symptom of the increasingly polarized public discourse – and Americans’ partisan divisions in the broader news media environment.

A majority of those who regularly get news from at least one of the seven alternative social media sites (66%) identify as Republicans or lean toward the Republican Party, in contrast with the news consumers on more established social media sites, who largely identify as Democrats or lean Democratic. And this trend is common among prominent accounts as well, with about a quarter of these accounts (26%) identifying as conservative or Republican or supportive of former President Donald Trump or his “Make America Great Again” movement. In addition, many prominent accounts express other values such as patriotism and religious identity.  

Several sites are linked to conservative backers – including Truth Social, which was launched by Trump about a year after he was “indefinitely” and “permanently” suspended from Facebook and Twitter. This is not a unique phenomenon: The study found a noteworthy percentage of prominent accounts on these seven newer sites (15%) have been banned or demonetized elsewhere on social media.

Perhaps connected to that, Americans who have heard of these sites but do not use them as sources for news are skeptical of them. When asked for the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about alternative social media sites, people in this category commonly cite inaccuracy and misinformation, political bias and the political right, and extremism and fringe ideas.

Other elements of the study speak to some of these associations. A small but measurable share of prominent accounts across these sites (6%) mention a connection to the set of conspiracy theories known as QAnon. And an analysis of recent content posted by prominent accounts on these sites finds that the most common phrases include some that are controversial and even inflammatory such as wariness toward vaccines and negative associations with LGBTQ people. Moreover, one of the most prevalent destinations for links found in these posts is The Gateway Pundit, a digital outlet that has been criticized for publishing false information.

These are some of the key themes to emerge from this major new study, which was designed to look at multiple aspects of the world of alternative social media. It examines those who turn to these sites for news, explores how the sites present themselves, and reports on the kinds of accounts that draw the most attention and the types of conversations taking place there.

For the first component, researchers conducted a survey of news consumers on seven sites: BitChute, Gab, Gettr, Parler, Rumble, Telegram and Truth Social. Four of these – Parler, Rumble, Telegram and Truth Social – had enough news consumers to do a deeper dive.

Next, researchers conducted an audit of all seven sites that explored elements of how the sites present themselves, privacy features, and other characteristics. Researchers then analyzed 200 prominent accounts sampled from those with the highest number of followers on each of these sites. They examined these 1,400 accounts for several attributes, including how they describe themselves in their profiles. Finally, researchers collected all 585,470 posts published by these accounts in June 2022 and examined their key phrases, themes and the links included in the posts. For more details, see the methodology. The rest of this overview discusses the key findings of the study in more detail.

Alternative social media sites have small, largely Republican audiences; prominent accounts tend to emphasize right-leaning identities and religious and patriotic values

These sites have become a refuge for some who feel they do not have a home on the more established sites.

Still, relatively few Americans use these alternative social media sites for news – though larger portions have heard of each of them. Parler is the best known of the seven sites named in the survey, with 38% of U.S. adults saying they are familiar with it. The share who get news on these sites is much smaller: Just 6% of Americans get news from at least one of the seven sites mentioned, and no single site is used for news by more than 2% of U.S. adults.

The news consumers on these sites lean heavily Republican. A majority of those who get news from at least one of the seven alternative social media sites (66%) are Republican or lean Republican. This is in contrast with more established social media sites, where news consumers are more likely to be Democrats or lean Democratic. (For more about news consumers on these more established sites, read our Social Media and News Fact Sheet.)

This report also looks at a sample of 200 of the prominent accounts on each site – those with the greatest number of followers – to determine what kinds of accounts tend to gain the most traction on alternative social media.

Roughly half (54%) of prominent accounts appeal to some kind of value or political orientation in their profiles. The most common of these values was right-leaning – 26% of prominent accounts expressed some kind of right-leaning or pro-Trump appeal – more of which centered around Trump or his “Make America Great Again” movement than with the Republican Party or conservative ideology.

Other expressed values included appeals to a religious identity (21% of prominent accounts), patriotism/pro-America views (21%), freedom and liberty (7%), pro-gun or pro-Second Amendment positions (6%), and support for the set of conspiracy theories known as QAnon (6%).

A close look at who is behind the prominent accounts shows that about eight-in-ten (83%) are run by individuals. That can mean either a single person with a noted affiliation to an organization or one without any organizational affiliation. Another 12% are organizations, including news organizations, nonprofit groups and others.

Along with a prevalence of conservative values and identities in prominent account profiles, political topics were common in the content posted there. This study collected all posts published by the 1,400 prominent accounts in June 2022 and identified those that were about five politically oriented topics: abortion; guns, gun control and shootings; the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and subsequent congressional hearings; LGBTQ issues; and vaccines.

The discussion around these issues often reflects fringe and controversial worldviews on the political right. For instance, some of the most common terms in posts about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol include “political prisoner,” “DC gulag,” “unselect committee,” “witch hunt” and “sham hearing.” Meanwhile, posts about vaccines indicate a deep and consistent concern about the impact of vaccination. These posts regularly refer to a small group of influential vaccine skeptics. 

The most common terms in these posts point to a widespread fear of real but rare impacts of vaccination (“side effect,” “adverse reaction,” “blood clot,” “heart inflammation”) but also diseases or symptoms for which the medical literature finds little evidence of being tied to vaccines (“[sudden adult] death syndrome,” “sperm count”). And posts about LGBTQ issues commonly referred to drag queen “story hour” (a common target of anti-LGBTQ groups) or derisive allegations toward gay and transgender individuals, such as “pedo” and “groomer,” implying that they prey on children.

Most alternative social media news consumers feel a sense of community on these sites, which prominently identify themselves as havens of free speech

About two-thirds of individuals who get news on at least one of the seven alternative social media sites (65%) say they have found a community of like-minded people there.

In a related finding, those who get news from Rumble, Parler, Truth Social and Telegram are far more likely to see these spaces as friendly than unfriendly. About half or more of those who get news on each of them – ranging from 53% to 69% – characterize the discussions they see on these sites as mostly friendly, while no more than a third of each site’s news consumers say the conversation there is mostly unfriendly (the rest say conversation is about an equal mix of friendly and unfriendly).

In some cases, the activity on these sites moves beyond the digital realm. One-third of alternative social media news consumers (33%) say they have participated in an in-person political rally or other political activity they learned about on these sites, and a similar share (36%) have donated money to accounts they follow on these sites.

A central way these sites depict themselves, one that may help give users that sense of community, is as welcoming havens for free speech as well as antidotes to the censorship and “cancel culture” they say exist on more established social media sites. Indeed, all of the seven sites examined explicitly state that they support free speech.

That message has clearly resonated with those turning to those sites for news. When users of alternative social media sites were asked to describe, in their own words, the first thing that comes to their mind in connection with these sites, 22% mentioned something related to the concept of freedom of speech, anti-censorship and an alternative to more established social media – far more common than any other type of response.

Alternative social media news consumers are particularly supportive of these concepts. Compared with Americans overall, alternative social media news consumers are more likely to say that freedom of information should be protected – even if it means allowing false information and offensive content online – than they are to say technology companies should take steps to restrict false information. For example, nearly two-thirds of alternative social media news consumers (64%) favor the protection of free speech even if it brings with it some false content, while the majority of all U.S. adults (61%) prefer that tech companies take steps to restrict this kind of content even if it limits freedom of information.

15% of prominent accounts on alternative social media sites were banned elsewhere

The free speech philosophies of these alternative social media sites have attracted some user accounts that were banned elsewhere. This may be connected to the perception among Americans who are aware of these sites but don’t get news there that the sites host misinformation.

Indeed, 15% of prominent accounts across the seven sites, including Trump’s account, have been indefinitely or permanently suspended, banned or demonetized on more established social media. This is particularly common on BitChute, a video-focused site, where about a third of prominent accounts (35%) have been banned or demonetized elsewhere.

In a number of cases the banning or demonetization was based on evidence that they had spread misinformation and inaccurate information (one example being COVID-19 vaccine skeptic Dr. Robert Malone).

That perception clearly exists among the larger segment of the public that does not use these alternative social media sites for news. When asked to name the first thing that comes to mind when they think of alternative social media sites, adults who have heard about these alternative social media sites but do not get news on them most commonly voice thoughts of inaccuracy and misinformation: 16% of responses. Another 11% of these U.S. adults cite political bias or associate the sites with the political right, and 6% associate alternative social media with extremism or consider them dangerous. Those who get news on these sites are less likely to mention these ideas and more likely to associate them with a lack of censorship or as alternatives to Big Tech.

The content on these sites also raises some questions about the credibility of the information found there. In June 2022, the most prominent accounts commonly linked to digital-only outlets such as The Gateway Pundit, Rebel News, Zero Hedge and Breitbart – each of which have been banned or demonetized by technology companies or other social media sites for misinformation or hate speech. Overall, during this period, there was a clear preference for material from other social media (45% of links) and relatively new, digital-only news sites (20%) rather than legacy news organizations like print publications (4%), radio or podcast sites (1%) or television (1%) sites. In fact, the same share of links went to The Gateway Pundit as to all print publications combined (4%).

Almost all alternative social media sites studied moderate content to some extent and also give users the option to do so

Notwithstanding their allegiance to free speech, almost all of the sites analyzed have at least some restrictions on content.

Every one of the sites, with the exception of Gab, moderates user content beyond the existing legal requirements to remove illegal content and cooperate with law enforcement requests.1 In some cases, sites have agreed to certain restrictions due to outside pressure from governments or mobile app stores like Apple’s App Store or the Google Play Store. This moderation includes removing posts that may contain violent, racist or offensive content and, in some cases, for the political viewpoint expressed.

In addition, almost all these sites give their users options to control the content they see. Five sites let users block or mute other users from their news feed, six sites let users report either accounts or posts, and four of the sites allow users to block explicit content.

Alternative social media news consumers largely satisfied with news they find there, which is often government and political news they wouldn’t have seen elsewhere

For many users, these sites are an important source of information about current events – often government and politics news – and they report finding news that they wouldn’t necessarily find elsewhere.

A majority of those who get news on at least one of the seven sites (56%) say a major reason they go to these sites is to stay informed about current events and issues. And much of what they see is government and political news: 52% say this is the most common type of news they come across on these sites.

In general, alternative social media news consumers like their experience there. About half or more of news consumers on Rumble, Truth Social, Telegram and Parler say they are very or somewhat satisfied with the experience of getting news there, and this overall satisfaction extends to their perception of the accuracy of the information they find. Fewer of the news consumers on each of these sites – roughly a quarter or less – say they are dissatisfied with the experience, while the rest say they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

These news consumers also say that much of the news they see on alternative social media sites is information they wouldn’t find elsewhere. Roughly half of news consumers who get news on at least one of the seven sites (52%) say they at least fairly often come across news on these sites that they would not have seen elsewhere, with an additional 32% who sometimes encounter unique news there. (PEW Research)

US In Record $31 Trillion Debt

Staff ReporterUSA, Economy 0

(AP) — The nation’s gross national debt has surpassed $31 trillion, according to a U.S. Treasury report released Tuesday that logs America’s daily finances.

Edging closer to the statutory ceiling of roughly $31.4 trillion — an artificial cap Congress placed on the U.S. government’s ability to borrow — the debt numbers hit an already tenuous economy facing high inflation, rising interest rates and a strong U.S. dollar.

And while President Joe Biden has touted his administration’s deficit reduction efforts this year and recently signed the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which attempts to tame 40-year high price increases caused by a variety of economic factors, economists say the latest debt numbers are a cause for concern.

Owen Zidar, a Princeton economist, said rising interest rates will exacerbate the nation’s growing debt issues and make the debt itself more costly. The Federal Reserve has raised rates several times this year in an effort to combat inflation.

Zidar said the debt “should encourage us to consider some tax policies that almost passed through the legislative process but didn’t get enough support,” like imposing higher taxes on the wealthy and closing the carried interest loophole, which allows money managers to treat their income as capital gains.

“I think the point here is if you weren’t worried before about the debt before, you should be — and if you were worried before, you should be even more worried,” Zidar said.

The Congressional Budget Office earlier this year released a report on America’s debt load, warning in its 30-year outlook that, if unaddressed, the debt will soon spiral upward to new highs that could ultimately imperil the U.S. economy.

In its August Mid-Session Review, the administration forecasted that this year’s budget deficit will be nearly $400 billion lower than it estimated back in March, due in part to stronger than expected revenues, reduced spending, and an economy that has recovered all the jobs lost during the multi-year pandemic.

In full, this year’s deficit will decline by $1.7 trillion, representing the single largest decline in the federal deficit in American history, the Office of Management and Budget said in August.

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said in an emailed statement Tuesday, “This is a new record no one should be proud of.”

“In the past 18 months, we’ve witnessed inflation rise to a 40-year high, interest rates climbing in part to combat this inflation, and several budget-busting pieces of legislation and executive actions,” MacGuineas said. “We are addicted to debt.”

A representative from the Treasury Department was not immediately available for comment.

Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at Loyola Marymount University, said “it took this nation 200 years to pile up its first trillion dollars in national debt, and since the pandemic we have been adding at the rate of 1 trillion nearly every quarter.”

Predicting high inflation for the “foreseeable future,” he said, “when you increase government spending and money supply, you will pay the price later.”

UN Rights Body To Monitor Russia In Historic Move

Staff ReporterWorld 0

The UN Human Rights Council, a 47-member top UN rights body has accepted the draft text presented by all European Union countries with the exception of Hungary, with 17 nations voting in favor of appointing a so-called special rapporteur to monitor Russia. Twenty-four countries abstained, while six voted ‘no’, including China, Cuba and Venezuela.

As per reports, the UN Human Rights Council agreed to monitor the rights situation in Russia, marking the first-ever resolution focused on violations inside the country.

The vote comes a few months after Russia was kicked off the council over its war in Ukraine, and marks the first time the rights body has decided to delve into the situation inside the country.

It also came less than two hours after this year’s Nobel Peace Prize was symbolically awarded to rights champions from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, three nations at the centre of President Vladimir Putin’s war.

Ahead of the vote, Russian ambassador Gennady Gatilov slammed the move, saying it was just another example of “the way in which Western countries are using the council to attain their political goals.”

‘Draconian laws’

The resolution, adopted on Putin’s 70th birthday, calls for the appointment of a special rapporteur to monitor “the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation for a period of one year”.

The rapporteur would “collect, examine and assess relevant information from all relevant stakeholders, including Russian civil society both inside and outside of the country,” and present a report in a year’s time, and another to the UN General Assembly in New York.

Luxembourg’s ambassador Marc Bichler, who presented the resolution on behalf of 26 EU countries, pointed to the years-long “deterioration as regards the human rights situation” in Russia, warning that it had “been exacerbated over recent months.”

“Recent draconian laws seeking to stifle independent media as well as undesirable organisations, severe sanctions for anyone calling into question the government, with a huge number of people who’ve been arrested at demonstrations, are just a few recent examples of the systematic repressive policies that have been documented by numerous independent sources,” he said.

While the decision was the first-ever targeting the situation inside Russia, the council has recently adopted other resolutions condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine, and ordering a high-level probe of violations by Russian troops there.

The vote came on the 16th anniversary of the killing of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, which several diplomats pointed to.

German ambassador Katharina Stasch was also among a number of diplomats to highlight Friday’s Nobel win, pointing out that laureate organization Memorial was “one of those organizations having been oppressed and even shut down by Russia for speaking up.”

French ambassador Jerome Bonnafont agreed, telling the council that the award “clearly shows the growing attention and concern about the dangerous downward slide” of rights in Russia.

Western countries were breathing a sigh of relief with the passage of Friday’s resolution, which came a day after they suffered a crushing defeat at the council when a first-ever attempted resolution on China was narrowly rejected.

That one — which called for a debate about a UN report warning of serious violations and possible crimes against humanity in China’s Xinjiang region — flopped after intense lobbying by Beijing. The failure indicated a shifting power balance and even raised questions about the credibility of the council itself, rights groups said.

Shattering the American Dream, 4 Members Of An NRI Family Kidnapped And Killed

Staff ReporterCommunity 0

The terrifying kidnapping and murder in Merced, California, of 8-month old Aroohi Dheri, her mother and father, Jasleen Kaur and Jasdeep Singh, and his older brother, Amandeep Singh, have horrified and left heartbroken the relatives in this tight knit Sikh family. 

A grieving close relative of the brothers told media, “You can’t even fathom. They were just starting a family, just making family memories… it was so short lived, it’s so heart breaking.” 

Two brothers, Jesus Manuel Salgado and Alberto Salgado, have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping and killing of the family members.  Jesus, a former worker at the victims’ family business, was arrested late Thursday on four counts of murder and four counts of kidnapping in the case, Merced County sheriff’s spokesperson Alexandra Britton said. 

Alberto also was arrested in the case Thursday night on preliminary charges of criminal conspiracy, accessory and destroying evidence in connection with the case, Britton told CNN Friday. 

Police say the four slain family members were kidnapped from the family’s trucking business in Merced on Monday, and parts of the kidnapping were captured on surveillance video. 

On Wednesday, the bodies of the four were recovered from an orchard in Merced County after a farmworker alerted authorities to the remains. 

As Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke announced the family’s bodies had been found Wednesday evening, he said, “there’s a special place in hell” for the perpetrator. 

“The circumstances around this, when we are able to release everything, should anger the hell out of you,” Warnke said. 

CNN was not immediately able to identify attorneys for the Salgado brothers, and calls to family members have gone unanswered. 

‘They worked very, very hard’ 

The Singh brothers came to America with their parents in 2002 from Punjab, India. Struggling to find work and master English, the family at one point slept in their car, recounts the family member. 

“They worked very, very hard to reach the point they did. They worked warehouse jobs, hourly jobs,” the family member told CNN. 

Older brother Amandeep was the one who decided driving a truck would give him autonomy, so he got his commercial truck driver’s license. After establishing himself, he bought a second truck and involved his younger brother Jasdeep. And in what is another example immigrants becoming part of the American dream, the pair then expanded, buying more trucks and opening up their own trucking and dispatch service in Merced. 

Jesus Manuel Salgado, left, and Alberto Salgado were arrested in connection with the kidnapping and killing of a California family of four. 

Merced County Sheriff’s Office 

According to the family member, Jasleen came to the United States in 2019 and soon after married Jasdeep. Because she had a background in billing and accounting, she handled the books for the trucking business. 

Early this year, Jasleen and Jasdeep became parents of Aroohi Dheri. The baby was part of a growing family that lived together – two grandparents, the two young children of older brother Amandeep, and his wife, now a young widow. 

Of the family being together in their grief, the relative says, “There are different cycles of grief – it’s the shock; it sinks in. We go into the memories and if you see anything that reminds you of something, you burst into tears. If you see another person or other crying in the hall, you burst into tears.”

A Bump And A Miss: Saudi Oil Cut Slaps Down Biden’s Outreach

Staff ReporterUSA, World 0

By Ellen Knickmeyer, Chris Megerian, & Kevin Freking

(AP) — President Joe Biden effectively acknowledged the failure of one of his biggest and most humiliating foreign policy gambles: a fist-bump with the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, the crown prince associated with human rights abuses.

Biden’s awkward encounter with Mohammed bin Salman in July was a humbling attempt to mend relations with the world’s most influential oil power at a time when the US. was seeking its help in opposing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting surge in oil prices.

That fist bump three months ago was followed by a face slap this week from Prince Mohammed: a big oil production cut by OPEC producers and Russia that threatens to sustain oil-producer Russia in its war in Ukraine, drive inflation higher, and push gas prices back toward voter-angering levels just before U.S. midterms, undercutting the election prospects of Biden and Democrats.

Asked about Saudi Arabia’s action, Biden told reporters Thursday it was “a disappointment, and it says that there are problems” in the U.S.-Saudi relationship. 

A number of Democrats in Congress called on the U.S. Thursday to respond by pulling back on its decades-old provision of arms and U.S. military protection for Saudi Arabia, charging that Prince Mohammed had stopped upholding Saudi Arabia’s side of a more than 70-year strategic partnership. The relationship is based on the U.S. providing the kingdom with protection against its outside enemies, and on Saudi Arabia providing global markets with enough oil to keep them stable. 

Calling the oil production cuts “a hostile act,” New Jersey Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski led two other lawmakers in introducing legislation that would pull U.S. troops and Patriot missile batteries out of the kingdom.

“What Saudi Arabia did to help Putin continue to wage his despicable, vicious war against Ukraine will long be remembered by Americans,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, adding, “We are looking at all the legislative tools to best deal with this appalling and deeply cynical action.”

The U.S. has no plans at the moment to withdraw military personnel or equipment from Saudi Arabia, State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said Thursday. 

Congress and the administration were reacting to the announcement of a bigger than expected cut of 2 million barrels a day by the OPEC-plus group, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia. The production cut is likely to drive up prices, bolstering the oil revenue Russia is using to keep waging its war in Ukraine despite U.S.-led international sanctions and further shaking a global economy already struggling with short energy supply.

Saudi oil minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, a half-brother of the crown prince, insisted at the OPEC-plus session there was no “belligerence” in the action. 

The administration says it’s looking for ways to blunt the impact of OPEC’s decision, and notes that the cost at the pump has still dropped in recent months.

Foreign arms sales ultimately are Congress’s to approve or disapprove, a U.S. official argued Thursday, so it was up to lawmakers to choose whether to try to make good on cutting U.S. weapons to Saudi Arabia. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the government’s take on the matter.

The official called Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia, and meetings with Middle East leaders there, steps toward building relations across the region, and said Biden’s meeting with the crown prince was in line with other face-to-face sessions with allies, rivals and adversaries, including Putin.

As a candidate, Biden had made a passionate promise to make the Saudi royal family a “pariah” over human rights abuses, especially Saudi officials’ killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018. 

The U.S. intelligence community formally concluded that Prince Mohammed, who wields much of the power in Saudi Arabia in the stead of his aging father, King Salman, had ordered or approved of Khashoggi’s killing. 

Biden as president disappointed rights activists when he opted not to penalize Prince Mohammed directly, citing his senior position in the kingdom and the U.S. strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia.

Then Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine worsened an already tight global oil market, driving up gasoline prices and inflation overall. Ally Israel and some in the administration argued that smooth relations between Riyadh and Washington had to be the U.S. priority. 

As U.S. prices at the pump rose and Biden’s poll ratings fell further, senior administration officials began shuttling to the Gulf, seeking to soothe Prince Mohammed’s anger at Biden’s campaign remarks and the U.S. findings in Khashoggi’s killing. That led to Biden paying his first visit as president to Saudi Arabia in July, putting presidential prestige behind the attempt to get U.S.-Saudi relations, and the global oil supply, back on steadier ground.

In Jeddah, Biden stopped short of offering a much-anticipated handshake. Instead, Biden, looking frailer and more stooped in comparison with Prince Mohammed, who is in his late 30s, leaned in to offer an out-of-character fist bump. Prince Mohammed reciprocated. Any smiles on the two men’s faces as their knuckles touched were fleeting.

Critics deplored Biden’s outreach to a prince accused of ordering the imprisonment, abduction, torture and killing of those, even fellow royals and family members, who oppose him or express differing views. 

Even if “you’re not willing to use the sticks with MBS, then don’t give up the carrots for free,” Khalid al Jabri, the son of a former Saudi minister of state, Saad al Jabri, said Thursday, using the prince’s initials. 

The senior al Jabri accuses Prince Mohammed of sending a hit squad after him in 2018, and of detaining two of his children to try to force his return. Prince Mohammed denies any direct wrongdoing, although he says as a Saudi leader he accepts responsibility for events on his watch.

Khalid al Jabri, who like his father now lives in exile, offered an argument echoed by rights advocates, Democratic lawmakers and others:

“That is one major flaw of the Biden policy so far, that in this kind of U.S.-Saudi rapprochement, it has been lopsided, it’s been one-way concessions. And that doesn’t work for MBS.”

Saudi Arabia has made a couple of moves that benefited the U.S. since Biden’s visit. Saudi Arabia was among the intermediaries who recently won the release of two Americans and other foreigners captured by Russia as they fought for Ukraine. And OPEC-plus made a modest increase in oil output shortly after the visit. The U.S. official cited Saudi Arabia’s agreement to allow Israeli civilian overflights of Saudi territory as one gain from Biden’s trip.

The subsequent oil production cuts have far offset the earlier gains, however. Prince Mohammed and other Saudi officials also have kept up outwardly warm dealings with Russian officials. And rights advocates point to a series of multidecade prison terms handed down to Saudi men and women over the mildest of free speech, especially tweets, since Biden’s visit.

By November, the Biden administration will have to decide whether to make another major concession to the prince. A U.S. court set that deadline for the U.S. to determine whether it will weigh in to agree or disagree with Prince Mohammed’s lawyer that the prince has legal immunity from a lawsuit in U.S. federal court over the killing of Khashoggi.

Lawmakers are scheduled to be out of Washington until after the Nov. 8 midterm elections and when they return will be focused on funding federal agencies for the full fiscal year through September 2023. Prospects for a lame-duck Congress taking up the bill introduced by Malinowski and the two other lawmakers are slight.

Rising gas prices would be bad news for Democrats heading into the final stretch of the midterm elections, while Republicans remain eager to capitalize on the decades-high inflation and rising cost of living, with high gas prices a constant reminder as voters fill up their tanks.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate, had one of the more scathing reactions to OPEC’s announcement.

“From unanswered questions about 9/11 & the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, to conspiring w/ Putin to punish the US w/ higher oil prices, the royal Saudi family has never been a trustworthy ally of our nation. It’s time for our foreign policy to imagine a world without their alliance,” he tweeted last week.

Sarah Thankam Mathews In 2022 National Book Awards Shortlist

Staff ReporterWomen, Education 0

Indian-American author Sarah Thankam Mathews is among the finalists for the 2022 National Book Awards, which will be announced on November 16 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City.

Mathews’ debut novel ‘All This Could Be Different’, is listed in the fiction category and tells the story of a young queer immigrant who creates a community for herself while grappling with the oppressive demands of capitalism.

“I simply will never be over this,” Mathews tweeted after her name was announced by The New York Times earlier this week.

Mathews grew up between Oman and India, and moved to the US at seventeen. Her work has been published in places including AGNI, SSENSE, and Best American Short Stories.

She was a 2020 Margins Fellow at the Asian American Writers’ Workshop, and the recipient of a Rona Jaffe fellowship at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

“Sarah Thankam Mathews has written one of the buzziest, and most human, books of the year,” the Vogue said. “…an extraordinary novel, spiny and delicate, scathingly funny and wildly moving. Sarah Thankam Mathews is a brilliant writer, one whose every ringing sentence holds both bite and heart,” Lauren Groff, author of Matrix, said.

The twenty-five Finalists for the 2022 National Book Awards for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, Translated Literature, and Young People’s Literature were announced with the New York Times. The five Finalists in each category were selected by a distinguished panel of judges, and were advanced from the Longlists announced in September with The New Yorker.

Between the five categories, there are six writers and one translator who have been previously honored by the National Book Awards: Gayl Jones, a 1998 Fiction Finalist; Scholastique Mukasonga, a 2019 Translated Literature Finalist; Sharon Olds, a 2002 Poetry Finalist; David Quammen, a 2018 Nonfiction Longlister; Yoko Tawada and Margaret Mitsutani, the 2018 Translated Literature Winners; and Jenny Xie, a 2018 Poetry Finalist. All five of the Finalists for Young People’s Literature are first-time National Book Award honorees. Six of the twenty-five Finalist titles are debuts.

Publishers submitted a total of 1,772 books for this year’s National Book Awards: 463 in Fiction, 607 in Nonfiction, 260 in Poetry, 146 in Translated Literature, and 296 in Young People’s Literature. Judges’ decisions are made independently of the National Book Foundation staff and Board of Directors, and deliberations are strictly confidential.

The Winners will be announced live on Wednesday, November 16 at the invitation-only 73rd National Book Awards Ceremony & Benefit Dinner, in person at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, and broadcast live for readers everywhere. 

Two lifetime achievement awards will also be presented as part of the evening’s ceremony: Art Spiegelman will be recognized with the National Book Foundation’s Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, presented by Neil Gaiman, and Tracie D. Hall will receive the Foundation’s Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community.

AAHOA Director of Corporate Communications Melissa Stern’s Survivor Story for Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Staff ReporterHealth, Women 0

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month, AAHOA Director of Corporate Communications Melissa Stern shares her survivor story in a recent podcast interview. Back in 2020, during the height of the pandemic, Melissa was diagnosed with cancer. In this interview, she talks about making a career change, overcoming breast cancer during a global pandemic, and sharing advice based on what she’s learned.

“Cancer changes you. I’ve become a completely different person than who I was before I was diagnosed, and it makes you reconsider what is important in life…I just thought I want to spend every moment that I can of my free time with my family and friends and doing the things that I truly enjoy doing. Obviously, I still work full time but in a different capacity where…I feel like I have more freedom and flexibility to do what I love to do.”

Listen to the full interview  and learn more about Melissa’s battle with cancer and advice for others who’ve received a scary diagnosis. 

Watch Melissa’s cancer journey in this news story.

Rupee Plunges To All-Time Low Against Dollar

Staff ReporterMoney 0

The Indian Rupee pared most of its initial losses and settled 4 paise lower at a fresh lifetime low of ₹82.34 (provisional) against the U.S. dollar on Monday, October 10, 2022, weighed down by as risk-averse sentiment among investors.

Indian rupee on Friday last week fell sharply to its all-time low of 82.33 against the dollar owing to a rise in US bond yields and firming up of crude oil prices. Rupee had closed at 81.89 on Thursday.

It was trading at 82.30 against the dollar in the morning after opening at 82.19 a dollar. Later, it touched an all-time low of 82.33 against the dollar.

The all-time low plunge in the rupee has come a day after the World Bank had on Thursday cut India’s growth forecast for this financial year by a full percentage point amid rising inflation and adverse geo-political conditions. (IANS)

The US dollar has surged this year. The world’s largest wealth manager explains why that dizzying rally isn’t done yet.

Meanwhile market watchers say, the surging US dollar has yet to peak. That’s according to UBS, which thinks the Federal Reserve is unlikely to start cutting interest rates any time soon, keeping the dollar rising against rival currencies globally. 

The greenback has already flown up 16.7% this year, bolstered by Fed rate hikes and weaknesses among major counterparts. But hopes of a pivot in the Fed’s policy pumped the brakes on its rise recently, with the US dollar index, which measures the buck against a basket of six currencies, retreating on the speculation fueled by a fall in US job openings and a lower-than-expected rate increase in Australia.

However, UBS’s analysts, led by CIO Mark Haefele, said in a note to clients this week that it’s too early to call a peak in both Fed hawkishness and the US dollar. 

“The number of job openings in the US remains much higher than those unemployed, while the latest core personal consumption expenditure price index showed that inflation is still elevated,” the note read. 

“Fed officials including Chair Jerome Powell have stressed that the central bank’s job is not yet done.” 

Against a backdrop of global uncertainty amid the war in Ukraine, the pressure weighing on the euro is likely to prop up the dollar in the near future, UBS says. 

Developed Economies “Shutting The Door” On Limiting Global Temperature, Says UN Chief

Staff ReporterEnvironment 0

With the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties 27 or COP27 barely a month away, Secretary General António Guterres has stepped up his warnings about the follies of ignoring “a life-or-death struggle” that the world is in the grip of.

“A third of Pakistan flooded. Europe’s hottest summer in 500 years. The Philippines hammered. The whole of Cuba in black-out. And here, in the United States, Hurricane Ian has delivered a brutal reminder that no country and no economy is immune from the climate crisis,” Guterres told journalists painting an increasingly dire picture of the climate catastrophe.

His observations come in the run-up to the COP27, which begins on November 6 and ends November 18 at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt.

Guterres has been particularly critical of the G20 industrialized nations in stalling any major action. He said that the collective commitments of G20 leading industrialized nations governments are coming “far too little, and far too late”.

“The actions of the wealthiest developed and emerging economies simply don’t add up,” Guterres said, pointing out that current pledges and policies are “shutting the door” on limiting global temperature to 2°C, let alone meet the 1.5°C goal.

His comments acquire particular significance since they come just before the pre COP27 planning meetings being organized in Kinshasa, in the Congo. Guterres said, “we are in a life-or-death struggle for our own safety today and our survival tomorrow,” even while counseling that there is no time for pointing fingers or “twiddling thumbs” but instead requires “a quantum level compromise between developed and emerging economies”.

Perhaps part of that compromise is the $100 billion in pledges that Guterres expects from the developed world to fulfil in order to support climate action in developing countries.

He called the COP27 is “the number one litmus test” of how seriously governments take the growing climate toll on the most vulnerable countries.

“This week’s pre-COP can determine how this crucial issue will be handled in Sharm el-Shaikh,” he said as he called for clarity from developed countries on the delivery of their $100 billion pledge.

In Kinshasa, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned environment ministers and others that the window of opportunity to avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis is closing.

“Mohammed recalled that at last year’s COP26 conference in Glasgow, developed nations had promised to double adaptation support to $40 billion dollars a year by 2025,” according to an official UN statement.

“The UN deputy chief called for a clear roadmap on how the funding will be delivered, starting this year. She added that $40 billion is “only a fraction of the $300 billion that will be needed annually by developing countries for adaptation by 2030,” the statement said.

In the run up to the COP27, the most disturbing realization is that the goal keeping Earth’s average temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above its preindustrial level is all but dead. As pointed out by Guterres repeatedly, the wealthiest economies are “shutting the door” on limiting the temperature to 2°C, let alone meet the 1.5°C goal.

That makes the work of the COP27 so much harder even as the world daily experiences extreme consequences of climate change caused by a warming planet.

As pointed out by Guterres, global emissions have continued to rise since 2018 when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations–led panel of scientists and scholars, said the goal of 1.5°C had become impossible. While it is often said the goal is “technically” possible to achieve but it invariably runs into global development compulsions and challenges, particularly in the developing world.

Since the 2018 IPCC report all the dire scenarios of extreme droughts, famines, hurricanes and other related catastrophes have become a reality around the world. Guterres has used his powerful platform to unrelentingly talk about the climate crisis as the defining challenge for humanity.

The best that is hoped for by many experts is that even as the world will overshoot the goal through the century there are expectations that by 2050 the world will control the temperature by removing vast amounts of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

7 Surprising Health Benefits Of Gratitude

Staff ReporterLifestyle 0

Now is the season to think about what makes you most thankful, but research supports making it a year-round habit. Many studies have found there are benefits of gratitude — both mental and physical — and all it takes to enjoy them is a little bit of introspection.

Here are seven surprising benefits of practicing gratitude.

Gratitude can make you more patient

Research from Northeastern University has found that people who felt grateful for little, everyday things were more patient and better able to make sensible decisions, compared to those who didn’t feel very gracious on a day-to-day basis. When 105 undergraduate students were asked to choose between receiving a small amount of money immediately or a larger sum at some point in the future, for example, the students who had shown more gratitude in earlier experiments were able to hold out for more cash.

Gratitude might improve your relationship

According to a study in the Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology, feeling grateful toward your partner — and vice versa — can improve numerous aspects of your relationship, including feelings of connectedness and overall satisfaction as a couple. “Having a partner that’s grateful for you or you being grateful for the other” can both help your love life, says Emma Seppälä, a happiness researcher at Stanford and Yale Universities and author of The Happiness Track. (Seppälä wasn’t involved with the research.)

Gratitude improves self-care

In a study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, researchers asked people to rate their levels of gratitude, physical health and psychological health, as well as how likely they were to do wellbeing-boosting behaviors like exercise, healthy eating and going to the doctor. They found positive correlations between gratitude and each of these behaviors, suggesting that giving thanks helps people appreciate and care for their bodies.

Gratitude can help you sleep

“Count blessings, not sheep,” Seppälä says. Research in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research has found that feeling grateful helps people sleep better and longer. That’s likely because “you have more positive thoughts before you go to sleep,” says Seppälä (who wasn’t involved in the study), which may soothe the nervous system. If you’re going to make a daily gratitude list, Seppälä recommends writing it before bed.

Gratitude may stop you from overeating

“Gratitude replenishes willpower,” says Susan Peirce Thompson, a cognitive scientist who specializes in the psychology of eating. The concept is similar to the Northeastern research that found a connection between gratitude and patience: Thompson says cultivating feelings of gratitude can boost your impulse control, helping you slow down and make better decisions. If you find yourself taking slice after slice of pumpkin pie, for example, Thompson recommends excusing yourself from the table to jot down a quick list of things you’re grateful for, which can help you clear your mind and reset.

Gratitude can help ease depression

Thompson, the cognitive scientist, says experiments have shown that people whole partake in the “three good things” exercise — which, as the name suggests, prompts people to think of three good moments or things that happened that day — see considerable improvements in depression and overall happiness, sometimes in as little as a couple weeks. “If there were a drug that did that, whoever patented that drug would be rich,” Thompson says. “Gratitude is very powerful.”

Gratitude gives you happiness that lasts

Lots of things, from a compliment to a sugary treat, can bring little bursts of happiness. But instant gratification also goes away quickly, Seppälä explains, which leaves you craving more. “Gratitude is something that leads to much more sustainable forms of happiness, because it’s not based in that immediate gratification; it’s a frame of mind,” she says. If you regularly take time to express gratitude and thankfulness, you’re likely to see results.  (courtesy: Time.com)

Multinationals See India As Global Manufacturing Base: CITI Investment Bank Boss

Staff ReporterBusiness, Economy 0

After the consumer banking exit, Citigroup which is focused on servicing large local corporates, multinationals, financial institutions, emerging and mid-sized corporate clients in India says that multinationals are starting to see India as a global manufacturing base, which will positively impact small- and mid-sized businesses.

In an exclusive interview to ANI, Citigroup’s Global Co-Head of Banking, Capital Markets and Advisory, Manolo Falco said that there is tremendous opportunity to support India’s capital and advisory needs.

Here is the transcript of an email interview of Manolo Falco to ANI:

Q: India is the 5th largest economy of the world. What does it mean to you? What reforms/measures pushed India to make in top 5 economies?
Falco: Fiscal prudence and discipline, development of physical infrastructure, ease of doing business, thriving start-up ecosystem, and the build out of India’s digital and financial infrastructure (UPI is recognized as amongst the best in the world), underpin the country’s growth. Recent Government policies on logistics, hydrogen, spectrum, EV, will support further growth, self-reliance, and efficiency. Multinationals are starting to see India as a global manufacturing base, which will positively impact small- and mid-sized businesses. For us at Citi, there is tremendous opportunity to support India’s capital and advisory needs. What I hear from our clients is that they want to grow more. What I hear from investors is they want to find meaningful opportunities to take part in.

Q: What are your plans for India after the consumer banking exit?
Falco: Citi will be focused on servicing large local corporates, multinationals, financial institutions, and emerging and mid-sized corporate clients. Through our universal banking proposition, we help clients with long-term financing, our global footprint, cash management, and protection against rate increases and volatility. We will double down on this strategy. I believe banking models such as what we’ve created will be extremely valuable in helping clients navigate through the uncertainty we see in today’s world. In India, within my business, we have advised clients on episodic business, including capital raising and M&A, worth ~$500 billion over two decades. We will continue to capitalize on our deep global relationships. There is also opportunity to support capital needs of mid and emerging corporates, who bank with our commercial banking business. Our investment bankers will be tasked with identifying these leaders of the future. Our focus and business strategy meant we were on every tech IPO last year.

Q: Indian stock markets are facing the heat of a higher interest rate environment globally. What is your medium-to-long term view on the Indian stock market?
Falco: While I don’t expect recovery too soon given the high interest rate environment, inflation, and volatility in commodities, we may be closer to a recovery given the work by central banks. India would be at the forefront of that as the economy is performing well. So we expect markets to do well, on a relative basis. Over the last two years, including 2022YTD which was a tough year, India will be a relative outperformer, up 22% 2021-2022 YTD and -2% 2022 YTD. India trades at a very healthy premium to its global EM peers. The country has witnessed high interest rates in the not-so-distant past and yet finds opportunities for continual growth. Recent green shoots and the revival of foreign inflows have resulted in a pickup in secondary market deal activity, albeit in narrow execution windows.

 

Q: What is your view on India’s Primary market. When do you see a revival?
Falco: India has a strong Primary Market and ranks amongst top 5-7 in capital formation globally across years. India’s primary capital markets positioning was further strengthened as it hosted multiple jumbo, $1 billion+ IPOs in the tech space, allowing India’s tech champions to list in their home market, rather than other large financial markets. India’s primary markets attract best-in-class global investors and Sovereign Wealth Funds; in addition, there is a captive pool of domestic capital. We are bullish the ability of India’s primary markets to finance its long-term equity story. Even short term, India did not close its door to primary capital activity. In a tough year, there was the completion of LIC’s jumbo IPO and the second-largest tech IPO for Delhivery. August and September were very active months in the block and follow-on market, raising over $3 billion. Away from India, Citi, as a JGC, recently concluded the Euro 9.4bn IPO for Porsche, which is the second-largest IPO this year. The success of the IPO speaks to our global distribution, which is also available to our Indian clients.

 

Q: Given the global turmoil, like Ukraine-Russia war, Inflation in US-UK and European countries, what kind of capital demand within India can we anticipate?
Falco: India Inc. has raised a total of $20 billion and $13 billion in the private and listed equity capital markets spaces respectively so far this year. There is a healthy bid for the market though it is very price elastic – so pricing, not volume, has meant the cost of capital has fundamentally changed, which is an ongoing issue in the market. Given the continued tension in IPO markets and narrow windows in secondaries, listed equities could see $5-6 billion in activity through the last three months of 2022. The private markets remain relatively insulated and can see another $6-7 billion worth of volumes over the same time frame. We believe issuance activity should slowly recover as issuers and investors adjust to the new normal.
In terms of debt capital, we expect strong demand from Indian issuers in next 12-18 months, which is expected to result in sizeable debt issuance in 2023. Given the Indian growth story, investor interest remains high for Indian issuances. For Citi, India remains one of the most important Asia Pacific markets with huge interest from global investors.

 

Q: With MNCs looking at a China + 1 strategy, what are the investment opportunities in India for them? Are inbound M&As an opportunity?
Falco: India is a huge opportunity – it is a sizeable economy with huge growth potential as well as diverse opportunities and a Government who is really focused on the right solutions for the country. I see huge potential in India for continued high growth and the country represents a massive opportunity for both local and international clients. I expect inbound investments in Infrastructure to bring efficient long-term capital. I think we need to be more aggressive in bringing opportunities to local companies, such as in clean energy, chemicals, renewables, technology and services. My focus will be to ensure we have talented global bankers with deep sector knowledge to help clients navigate the India opportunity. (https://theprint.in/economy/multinationals-starting-to-see-india-as-global-manufacturing-base-citi-investment-bank-boss/1156602/)

O.P. Jindal Global University To Partner With 10 Global Universities

Staff ReporterEducation 0

The O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) has established new and meaningful partnerships with 10 leading universities in the US as part of working towards its mission to provide global education opportunities to its students.

JGU has signed new MoUs with the San Jose State University; University of Houston; Penn State Dickinson School of Law; Central Washington University; Pace University; Fordham University; University of Oregon; Clark University; Washington State University; and the Ohio State University

These innovative and path-breaking new collaborations will give JGU students opportunities to study with the leading universities of the world, participate in student exchange programmes, study abroad courses and for dual degree qualifications.

They will also have access to world-class faculty members while studying at JGU and partner universities in the US.

Students will be able to develop intercultural learning experience, while gaining a global perspective during the study period and get opportunities to improve employability skills and enhance chances to follow higher education pursuits overseas. These international education opportunities will be available for students of law, business, finance, liberal arts, journalism and many other disciplines.

The Founding Vice Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, said: “The MoUs that have been signed with the 10 leading universities of the US underscores JGU’s commitment to fulfil the vision of the National Education Policy 2020 and to provide global education opportunities to the students of JGU under the framework of our status as an ‘Institution of Eminence’.

“International collaborations allow JGU students to develop a world view with an exchange of knowledge and ideas along with a multi-cultural understanding. Student and academic mobility lead to mutual benefit for both institutions and strengthen educational connections.

“These partnerships also have the potential to make an impact on curriculum development, collaborative teaching programmes and research networks. The partnerships with renowned universities in the US will provide transformative learning opportunities for our students.”

JGU has a wide network of partner universities in the US which has further expanded with the addition of these top-class Universities catering to the aspirations of JGU’s students for higher education in the US with a holistic international experience.

These new collaborations are in addition to the existing 360+ partnerships across 67 countries in the world creating diverse opportunities for intercultural learning through internationalization.

Professor (Dr.) Mohan Kumar, Dean, Office of International Affairs & Global Initiatives, JGU, said: “JGU has had long standing cooperation with some of the leading universities in the US. Some of the key strategic partnerships of JGU are with American universities.

“JGU hopes to strengthen and consolidate these partnerships in the future with the wide-ranging opportunities for our students to study with leading universities and institutions in the US. Our students are keen to engage with global universities in their pursuit of study abroad programmes, student exchange programmes and dual degree offerings.” (IANS)

US asks its citizens to exercise ‘increased caution’ while visiting India

In its latest India Travel Advisory, the United States has asked its citizens to “exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism”.

The US State Department in the travel advisory issued on October 5 has put India at Level 2, which denotes “Exercise Increased Caution”.

The advisory asked its citizens not to travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (except the eastern Ladakh region and its capital, Leh) due to terrorism and civil unrest, and within 10 km of the India-Pakistan border due to potential armed conflicts.

“Indian authorities report that rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations,” the advisory added.

“Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities,” the US State Department said.

The US government has limited ability to provide emergency services to its citizens in rural areas from eastern Maharashtra and northern Telangana through western West Bengal as the US government employees must obtain special authorisation to travel to these areas. (IANS)

Thousands Celebrate Grand Ganesh Chaturthi Celebrations In New York

Staff ReporterCommunity, Culture 0

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Deputy Commissioner Dilip Chauhan, New York State Senator John Liu, New York State Assembly member David Weprin Councilmember Linda Lee, Sandra Ung, Councilmember Shekhar Krishnan and thousands of worshipper attended Ganesh Chaturthi Celebration with Hindu Temple Society of North America  and Ganesh Festival last week. 

The much anticipated celebrations were organized by Sreenath Enterprise in New York.  The Rath Yatra of the Ganesh Temple in Flushing was enjoyed by thousands of devotees as well as elected officials. “Such a great experience to be a part of Grand Ganesh Rathyatra at the Hindu Temple Society of North America in Flushing. Diversity is our strength. #GaneshTempleStreet,” he had later tweeted.

UN Official Calls For UNSC, UNHRC Probe In Persecution Of India’s Minorities

Staff ReporterIndia 0

The United Nations Security Council and the United Nations Human Rights Council must both step up and investigate the widespread religious persecution and human rights violations in India just as they did with Syria, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Minority Rights Fernand de Varennes have said.
“Nothing short of an international investigative mechanism – as has been done by the UN Security Council, and Human Rights Council for countries such as Syria, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Ethiopia – may be necessary,” to reverse the trend of violence against minorities in India, de Varennes said at an international webinar this week.

“The international community needs to step up to the task if we’re serious about reversing the trend – a trend of a systemic pattern where certain minorities are targeted, marginalized, demonized,” he added.

Citing several of India’s most alarming human rights violations, de Varennes criticized Hindu extremists for engaging in increasingly violent hate speech, using legislation “to shut down and shut up critics,” sexually harassing Muslim women through mock auction apps, celebrating 11 Hindu men convicted of gang-raping a Muslim woman in 2002, policing religious belief through anti-conversion laws, and stripping Kashmir of its semi-autonomy in 2019.

De Varennes also slammed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu supremacist Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled (BJP) Assam state for its National Register of Citizens (NRC) as well as the nationally-implemented Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), which he described as “excluding mainly Muslims” and creating the risk of “statelessness for millions and millions.”

“The scale of denial of the human rights of these minorities, even through legislation and its application in the judicial system, is systemic and national,” de Varennes said.. “[There is the] refusal of authorities to engage fully with global human rights mechanisms, including Special Procedures. The rising brutality and incitement of hatred and violence against minorities are of such gravity and magnitude.”

The webinar, held Monday, was organized by an interfaith coalition of six human rights organizations: Open Doors International, The World Evangelical Alliance, International Commission for Dalit Rights, Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council, and Justice for All. It was held in conjunction with the 51st Session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, and ahead of India’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

Andrea Benzo, Italy’s Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Protection, and Interreligious Dialogue, said that at India’s last UPR in 2017, “Italy formulated a recommendation on abolishing anticonversion laws and granting access to justice to victims of religious violence and discrimination. Five years later, there are still challenges that need to be addressed to ensure all persons can fully enjoy all their rights under the law, irrespective of their religion or belief.”
Benzo said the term ‘minority’ “should not be misused to claim that members of a certain community are not fully part of the nation of its history and its culture. When it comes to religious intolerance, the distance between words and deeds – that is, between hate speech and physical violence – is very short. Therefore, we need to tackle the former before it rapidly evolves into the labs.”

Sunita Viswanath, the Executive Director of Hindus for Human Rights, said “Modi’s strategic silence allows him to deny the well-documented fact that the Indian government persecutes these minorities.”
“The Indian government must be forced to denounce, on the record, the political movement that drove it to power and the anti-minority violence we all know that it encourages,” Viswanath said. “Member states should ask the Indian government as well to repeal the many laws that restrict the abilities of minorities to exercise their full rights as Indian citizens.”

Ajit Sahi, Advocacy Director, Indian American Muslim Council, warned that India faced a “collapse of democracy,” and that the nation’s backsliding on democratic values had already been noted by global watchdogs, Sweden-based V-Dem Institute, and the US-based Freedom House.
“You are looking at a completely authoritarian country that is being shaped into existence under the leadership of Narendra Modi, India’s current prime minister. It is absolutely of great significance to all Western countries. If you do not stop India right now, India will destroy peace and democracy in the rest of the world,” he said.

Hena Zubairi, Washington DC Director of Justice For All, expressed concern over the ongoing threats of violence against Muslim women from Hindu supremacists across India: “Combine this with the threats of sexual violence coming from genocidal conferences being held by people who lead temples, not one, not to the lead of this genocidal conference that took place in December. Yati Narsinghanand, [one of the hate speakers at the event,] leads 4000 temples. That is not fringe, that’s mainstream.”
She added that India was at risk of sparking another wide-scale refugee crisis. “As the Holocaust Museums Early Warning project predicts the mass killings in India, what will happen? Where will these refugees go? Bangladesh? Pakistan, when one-third of Pakistan is underwater? There’s too much at stake.”

Reverend Gideon Gibamani, representing the International Commission for Dalit Rights, pointed out the “intersectional vulnerabilities” faced by Muslims and Christian Dalits, who suffer from discrimination by the state, society, and their own faith groups due to being excluded from protections offered to Dalit Hindus.

“This discriminates Dalit Christians and Muslims from access to education, development, and political representation, thereby discriminating further on the basis of religion,” he said. “This protection given through the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act is denied in its application for Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims, thereby denying access to justice.”

 

UAE To Attract Skilled Professionals With New Visa Rules

Staff ReporterBusiness, Immigration 0

The United Arab Emirates has rolled out new visa rules, with the objective of attracting more skilled professionals to the country, as it seeks to bounce back from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and generate economic growth. Included among the changes are longer 60-day tourist visas allowing long-term residency for professional workers and easier access to the UAE’s 10-year Golden Visa scheme. The latter refers to visas that are offered to gifted students, exceptionally skilled foreign workers, and people with public investments of at least 10 million dirhams (about $2.7m) who can live in the country without the need for a national sponsor, subject to renewal every 10 years.

The United Arab Emirates has rolled out new visa rules, with the objective of attracting more skilled professionals to the country, as it seeks to bounce back from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and generate economic growth.

The visa rules are aimed at “improving the quality of life and making the experience of living, working and investing in the UAE a pleasant and happy one,” local outlet Gulf News reported Major General Sultan Yusef al-Nuaimi, the director general of residency and foreigners affairs, as saying.

The schemes were rolled out on Monday, and have been described by local media as the biggest shake-up in the country’s immigration and residency policy in years.

Included among the changes are longer 60-day tourist visas allowing long-term residency for professional workers and easier access to the UAE’s 10-year Golden Visa scheme.

The latter refers to visas that are offered to gifted students, exceptionally skilled foreign workers, and people with public investments of at least 10 million dirhams (about $2.7m) who can live in the country without the need for a national sponsor, subject to renewal every 10 years. Additionally, the recipients, who can either apply online or be nominated by Emirati government bodies, can own 100 percent of their businesses located on the mainland.

Under the new rules, parents are now allowed to sponsor their children until they are 25 years old, up from the previous age of 18.

A five-year, flexible multi-entry tourist visa was also introduced that allows travellers to stay in the UAE for up to 90 days in a row.

Furthermore, the job exploration visa, which allows professionals to find employment within the country, does not require an Emirati sponsor or host.

Candidates for the Green Visa – which include freelancers, self-employed people, skilled workers and investors – can now sponsor themselves without having to rely on a UAE national or employer to do so. They can also sponsor first-degree relatives for the duration of their residency, and are allowed a grace period of up to six months if their residence permit is cancelled or expires.

How China’s Civil Society Collapsed Under Xi Jinping

Staff ReporterWorld, Opinion 0

Human rights activist Charles remembers a time when civil society was blossoming in China, and he could dedicate his time to helping improve the lives of people struggling in blue-collar jobs. Now, 10 years into President Xi Jinping’s rule, community organisations such as Charles’s have been dismantled and hopes of a rebirth crushed. Charles has fled China and several of his activist friends are in jail. “After 2015, the whole of civil society began to collapse and become fragmented,” he told AFP.

Human rights activist Charles remembers a time when civil society was blossoming in China, and he could dedicate his time to helping improve the lives of people struggling in blue-collar jobs.

Now, 10 years into President Xi Jinping’s rule, community organisations such as Charles’s have been dismantled and hopes of a rebirth crushed.

Charles has fled China and several of his activist friends are in jail.

“After 2015, the whole of civil society began to collapse and become fragmented,” he told AFP, using a pseudonym for safety reasons.

Xi, on the brink of securing a third term at the apex of the world’s most populous country, has overseen a decade in which civil society movements, an emergent independent media and academic freedoms have been all but destroyed.

As Xi sought to eliminate any threats to the Communist Party, many non-governmental organisation workers, rights lawyers and activists were threatened, jailed or exiled.

AFP interviewed eight Chinese activists and intellectuals who described the collapse of civil society under Xi, though a few remain determined to keep working despite the risks.

Some face harassment from security officers who summon them weekly for questioning, while others cannot publish under their own names.

“My colleagues and I have frequently experienced interrogations lasting over 24 hours,” an LGBTQ rights NGO worker told AFP on condition of anonymity, adding that psychological trauma from the repeated questioning has compounded his woes.

“We’ve become more and more incapable, regardless of whether it’s from a financial or operational perspective, or on a personal level.”

‘709 crackdown’

The collapse of China’s civil society has been a long process riddled with obstacles for activists.

In 2015, more than 300 lawyers and rights defenders were arrested in a sweep named the “709 crackdown” after the date it was launched — July 9.

Many lawyers remained behind bars or under surveillance for years, while others were disbarred, according to rights groups.

Another watershed moment was the adoption in 2016 of the so-called foreign NGO law, which imposed restrictions and gave police wide-ranging powers over overseas NGOs operating in the country.

“In 2014, we could unfurl protest banners, conduct scientific fieldwork and collaborate with Chinese media to expose environmental abuses,” an environmental NGO worker told AFP on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

“Now we must report to the police before we do anything. Each project must be in cooperation with a government department that feels more like a supervisory committee.”

Zero-tolerance

Today’s landscape is markedly different from even a few years ago, when civil society groups were able to operate in the relatively permissive climate that started under previous president Hu Jintao.

“At universities, several LGBTQ and gender-focused groups sprung up around 2015,” said Carl, an LGBTQ youth group member, although he felt a “tightening pressure”.

By 2018, the government’s zero-tolerance of activism came to a head with the authorities suppressing a budding #MeToo feminist movement and arresting dozens of student activists.

“Activities quietly permitted before were banned, while ideological work like political education classes ramped up”, said Carl.

In July 2022, Beijing’s prestigious Tsinghua University handed two students official warnings for distributing rainbow flags, while dozens of LGBTQ student groups’ social media pages were blocked.

‘Like grains of corn’

Another harbinger of regression was a 2013 internal Party communique that banned advocating what was described as Western liberal values, such as constitutional democracy and press freedom.

“It treated these ideologies as hostile, whereas in the 1980s we could discuss them and publish books about them,” said Gao Yu, a Beijing-based independent journalist who was either in prison or under house arrest between 2014 and 2020 for allegedly leaking the document.

“In a normal society, intellectuals can question the government’s mistakes. Otherwise… isn’t this the same as in the Mao era?” he asked, referring to Communist China’s founder Mao Zedong.

Now, 78-year-old Gao endures social media surveillance, has virtually no income and is blocked from overseas calls or gathering with friends.

“We are all like grains of corn ground down by the village millstone,” she said.

Replacing Gao and her peers are celebrity academics who parrot hawkish nationalist ideology, while others have been forced out of their positions or endure classroom surveillance from students.

“A kind of tattle-tale culture has flourished in China’s intellectual realm over the past decade,” said Wu Qiang, a former Tsinghua political science professor and Party critic.

“Students have become censors reviewing their professor’s every sentence, instead of learning through mutual discussion.”

‘Unwinnable war’

Faced with the increasingly harsh climate, many activists have either fled China or put their work on hold.

Only a handful persevere, despite growing hostility including online bullying.

“Perhaps right now we are at the bottom of a valley… but people are still tirelessly speaking out,” said Feng Yuan, founder of gender rights group Equity.

For others, like the environmental organisation worker, it is an “unwinnable war” against nationalist trolls who claim all NGO staff are “anti-China and brainwashed by the West”.

“It makes me feel like all my efforts have been wasted,” they said.

Charles’s friends, #MeToo advocate Huang Xueqin and labour activist Wang Jianbing, have been detained without trial for over a year on subversion charges.

He believes authorities viewed their gatherings of young activists as a threat — and the threshold for prosecution is getting lower.

“The government is now targeting individuals who do small-scale, subtle, low-key activism,” he said. “They have made sure there is no new generation of activists.” (This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Mahabalipuram In Tamil Nadu Beats Taj Mahal With Maximum Foreign Tourists

Staff ReporterCulture, Tourism 0

Mahabalipuram, a Tamil Nadu town in India, classified as a UNESCO world heritage site, has beaten the Taj Mahal in the number of foreign visitors. As per the Indian Tourism Statistics 2022, as many as 1,44,984 foreign visitors came to Mahabalipuram, located about 60 km from Chennai in South India in 2021-22, accounting for 45.50 percent of the travelers from abroad who visited the top 10 most popular and centrally protected monuments with ticketed access.

The Taj Mahal, in Agra, occupied the second spot with 38,922 foreign visitors, accounting for 12.21 per cent of total such visitors.

Six of the top 10 monuments on the central list are in Tamil Nadu. They are the tiger-headed, rock-cut temple and two other monuments in coastal hamlet Saluvankuppam in Chengalpattu district, the Gingee Fort near Gingee district, the Vattakottai Fort near Kanyakumari district, the Thirumayam Fort, the rock-cut Jain temple and Sittanavasal in Pudukkottai district. The Agra Fort (Uttar Pradesh) with 13,598 foreign visitors, the Qutb Minar (Delhi) with 8,456 visitors and the Red Fort (Delhi) with 5,579 visitors are some other monuments on the list.

The report also said the top five states for domestic tourist visits in 2021 were Tamil Nadu (115.33 million), Uttar Pradesh (109.70 million), Andhra Pradesh (93.27 million), Karnataka (81.33 million) and Maharashtra (43.56 million)

“These five states accounted for about 65.41 per cent of the total domestic tourist visits in the country,” the report added.

Mamallapuram, or Mahabalipuram, is a town on a strip of land between the Bay of Bengal and the Great Salt Lake, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It’s known for its temples and monuments built by the Pallava dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries. The seafront Shore Temple comprises 3 ornate granite shrines. Krishna’s Butter Ball is a massive boulder balanced on a small hill near the Ganesha Ratha stone temple.

The town’s religious centre was founded by a 7th-century-ce Hindu Pallava king—Narasimhavarman, also known as Mamalla—for whom the town was named. Ancient Chinese, Persian, and Roman coins found at Mamallapuram point to its earlier existence as a seaport. 

It contains many surviving 7th- and 8th-century Pallava temples and monuments, chief of which are the sculptured rock relief popularly known as “Arjuna’s Penance,” or “Descent of the Ganges,” a series of sculptured cave temples, and a Shaiva temple on the seashore. The town’s five rathas, or monolithic temples, are the remnants of seven temples, for which the town was known as Seven Pagodas. The entire assemblage collectively was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984.

Shreya Ghoshal On Global Tour To Celebrate 2 Decades In Music Industry

Staff ReporterEntertainment 0

Playback singer Shreya Ghoshal, who is known for hits such as ‘Ami Je Tomar’, ‘Bahara’ and ‘Chikni Chameli’, will headline a series of concerts across the world as she completes two decades in the music industry. 

She will perform in a 5-city Australia-New Zealand tour from October 7 to October 16, 2022, in Ireland on October 29 and The Netherlands on October 30. Additionally, she will also perform in the USA from November 4 to November 19, 2022.

Talking about the US tour, Shreya Ghoshal said: “This US tour is very special for me as I am completing twenty years in Bollywood, and what a beautiful way to celebrate my journey with my fans. Coincidentally, this is my first tour in the US after the unfortunate pandemic disruption.”

She further said: “I am humbled to be a part of the concert and to be able to continue entertaining my fans. I always had an amazing experience performing for the warm crowd of the US and I am quite excited to perform there after three long years.”

The high-profile music concert will see a seven-city tour across the US. The US leg of the tour will start on November 4 in New Jersey, followed by Dallas, Texas on November 5, Washington, DC on November 11, Oakland, Bay Area on November 12, Los Angeles on November 13, Orlando, Florida on November 18, and will conclude in New York on November 19, 2022. 

Shreya Ghoshal (born 12 March 1984) is an Indian playback singer. She has received four National Film Awards, seven Filmfare Awards including six for Best Female Playback Singer, nine Filmfare Awards South, three Kerala State Film Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and many other awards. She has recorded songs for film music and albums in various Indian languages and has established herself as a leading playback singer of Indian cinema.

Vikas Khanna Says, Diversity Of Indian Cuisine Is Simply Unparalleled

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Celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna, who is set to host the first episode of the upcoming docu-series ‘The Journey of India’, recently shared that no other cuisine in the world can match up to the Indian cuisine.

The Michelin-star chef said: “I have travelled to innumerable countries in my time as a chef. However, the diversity of Indian cuisine is simply unparalleled. The complexity of flavours and the multiple notes it can hit at once simultaneously makes it unlike any other. Indian food has a soul of its own.”

Vikas will take the viewers across India and the extraordinary ingredients, flavours, recipes and cuisines that define India through the show. The episode will also feature other experts from the culinary industry who share their experiences and vast knowledge on the subject, decoding India’s wholesome food ventures that have put India and its food on the global map.

“I can’t wait to take my fellow viewers through the journey of India’s un-really diverse palette and how it emerged as one of the top global delicacies,” Vikas added.

He also mentioned that the Golden Temple was his glimmer of hope and inspiration, where any celebration began with the langar seva, the selfless service feeding thousands of hungry souls among many other experiences.

‘The Journey of India’ will air on Discovery’s network of channels in India and drop on OTT platform discovery+ on October 10. (IANS)

Asian Americans’ Health Poorly Understood, Study Finds

Staff ReporterHealth, Education 0

A study led by Indian-origin doctor Nilay Shah says that the standard approach and definitions of obesity, based on specific body mass index thresholds, may not be appropriate for the Asian American population. 

The Asian Americans are a fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States with their population expected to number more than 46 million by 2060.

“Clinicians must be aware that the cardiovascular and metabolic risks related to obesity may be different among individuals who belong to different Asian subgroups,” says lead author Dr Nilay Shah, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Illinois.

The standard threshold for obesity is a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or above, but the study finds that the number should be a BMI of 27.5 or above for Asian American people, based on their health risks.

Health risks in this population also may start at a lower BMI than the standard BMI definitions of obesity, the study says. It further finds that the prevalence of obesity ranged from 13 per cent in Chinese American adults to 29 per cent in Filipino American adults.

So, applying standard definitions to Asian Americans may miss a large portion of adults from these groups who have higher risks for disease because of their body composition, Shah says.

The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, identifies the prevalence of obesity in the six largest Asian American subgroups – Asian Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese, which better represents the variability in obesity in Asian subgroups in the US. (IANS)

New Era At “Ekal Foundation” With Dr. Subra Dravida Of ‘Qualcomm’ As The President

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After two years of hosting annual organizational meets virtually, “Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation (EVF)”, last week hosted an in-person ‘International Conference’ in Chicago for its USA, Canada and India components to review and recalibrate the roadmap for the future. The main agenda of the conference was to put ‘Ekal’ (as it is popularly known) on the FastTrack after some setbacks in 2020-21 due to Covid pandemic. Thus, Ekal is launching a new technology driven era by appointing Dr. Subra Dravida, V.P. of ‘Qualcomm’s technology division as the new President of Ekal-USA. 

After the previous President, Suresh Iyer, himself a successful entrepreneur in the field of ‘Information Technology’ had brought EVF to the threshold of digitized world, Subraji’s appointment as his successor was inevitable. Dr Subra Dravida, a well-known brilliant mind from New England’s technology hub, has been associated with Ekal for some time now. He had been the President of New England Chapter of Ekal for 4 years, then a member of ‘Board of Directors’ and recently, an Executive V.P., working closely with Suresh Iyer and Ekal-USA Chairman, Arun Gupta. 

Subraji received his B. Tech in Electrical Engineer from IIT, Madras in 1979 and earned his M.S. and Ph.D. from RPI, Troy, NY in 1980 and 1984. From 1984 to 1998, he worked at Bell Labs in Holmdel, NJ. In 1998, he moved to Massachusetts to work in a start-up, MaxComm Technologies, as VP of Engineering before subsequently ending up as V.P. of Technology with Qualcomm. Subraji has over 50 Patents in Networking and Cellular Communications and has numerous research papers to his credit.

 ‘Ekal’ is the largest literacy movement globally undertaken by NRIs and Indians, that also provide healthcare training, economic empowerment and integrated village development to the rural folks. Currently, it is running 78,000 schools that is grooming 2.1 million each year across rural-tribal parts of India. When asked about what initially attracted him to Ekal, Subraji said, “I had been attending Ekal fund raisers for some time and it is Ekal’s concept of running a whole school for mere $365 a year is what pulled me in”. 

He further added that,” this modest amount transforms permanently the lives of about 30 children and indirectly that of the whole community and so what better investment there could be for the brighter future of India”.  Dr Subra Dravida has generously supported Ekal from the beginning. He has sponsored ‘Ekal-on-wheels’ (mobile computer training van) for Telangana and supported ‘Integrated Village Development’ for Andhra Pradesh.  As for his vision, Subraji wants digital technology, equipped with tablets and computers to transform education, train teachers, add vocational skills and expand Ekal’s reach. Swami Vivekananda has been the guiding light in his life’s journey and according to him, ‘Jnâna (knowledge), Bhakti (dedication), and Karma yoga (selfless efforts) all converge at one point in Ekal’

MS Dhoni Launches ‘Made-In-India’ Drone At Global Drone Expo 2022

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Indian cricketing star Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who popularized the ‘helicopter shot’ has launched a quadcopter consumer camera drone named ‘Droni’. The made-in-India camera drone with advanced features is manufactured by Garuda Aerospace, of which MS Dhoni is the Brand Ambassador.

Garuda Aerospace has created a niche for itself by offering drone solutions for agricultural pesticide spraying, solar panel cleaning, industrial pipeline inspections, mapping, surveying, public announcements, and delivery services and has now ventured into the consumer drone market with the latest offering – ‘Droni’. According to the company’s founder and CEO, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, the product will be available in the market by the end of 2022.

The event in Chennai also witnessed the launch of a new ‘Kisan Drone’ that is aimed at the agriculture sector, particularly in spraying applications. This battery-powered drone is capable of carrying out agricultural pesticide spraying over a land area of 30 acres per day.

Speaking at the event, Dhoni recalled that he had taken a keen interest in agriculture during the COVID-19 lockdown. He emphasized the role of drones for agriculturalists. Speaking at the launch, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, Founder and CEO, of Garuda Aerospace, “Garuda Aerospace is focused on creating high-impact solutions for numerous purposes.  Our Droni drone is indigenous and can be used for different surveillance purposes.  It is efficient, seamless and high quality from tech and build standpoint.  By providing Made-in-India drones, we hope to not just become aatmanirbhar(self-reliant)for demand of drones but also place India on the global map as a hub for superior quality, safe and secure drone and drone-based solutions.”

President of the Indian Drone Association and Former Wing Commander in the Indian Airforce, Anand Kumar Das said, “I am extremely delighted to serve on a platform where industry stakeholders connect to gain insights about the drone industry and happy to organize the Global Drone Expo with Garuda Aerospace. This platform will play a significant role in promoting the drone industry and fostering growth.”

The Global Drone Expo witnessed 1500+ participants from 14 international drone companies and representatives from over 28 states and union territories which attracted investors, youth and stakeholders and outlined a path forward for the drone industry.  Industry experts, farmers, dealers, distributors, people from the banking and insurance sectors, education-financial institutions, government representatives, pilots and various investors were provided a platform to gain insights into the drone culture and the various possibilities associated with the use of drones.

India Invites People Of Indian Heritage To Explore Start-Up Boom

Staff ReporterTechnology 0

As the world economy staggers under global recession, many Indians settled abroad are thinking of returning to the homeland. They now see India as an exciting market, where the real growth story lies. 

India too, stands to benefit from the return of the Non-resident Indian;  the positive effects of a reverse brain drain have been evidenced in countries like Taiwan, Israel and China. Now more than ever, India needs skills in science and math, and investments in research. 

The returning NRI will bring a higher understanding of the functioning of developed countries, of technology and know-how that will benefit India, and a business network that will expand India’s economic reach.

India has now invited with open arms Non-resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) to come and explore the great start-up boom in India, the success of which has become a global talking point. 

With over 77,000 startups and 105 unicorns, Indian innovators, incubators and entrepreneurs are making a mark for themselves and this may inspire and encourage NRIs and PIOs to look at opportunities back home.

Interacting with eminent diaspora over a community reception in New York, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh also invited the NRIs and PIOs to come and explore the great startup boom in India. The interaction with eminent diaspora was held over a community reception hosted for the Union Minister of State (MoS), Ministry of Science and Technology; MoS, Ministry of Earth Science; MoS of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances AND Pensions at New York. 

Dr Singh pointed out that the pro-business reforms unleashed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last eight years like reduction in compliance requirements, removal of retrospective taxation, simplification of the corporate tax rate structure, and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) have improved India’s rank in ease of doing business from 142 in 2014 to 63 in 2022, as per World Bank report.

Dr Singh was speaking to the Indian diaspora in New York after returning from the Joint Ministerial Plenary of Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM13) and Mission Innovation (MI-7) at the ‘Global Clean Energy Action Forum- 2022’ at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He led a high-level Joint Indian Ministerial Delegation of the Ministry of Power, New & Renewable Energy and Ministry of Science & Technology at the Energy Summit from September 21 to 23 and presented India’s view on clean energy initiatives and climate actions at various roundtables and Joint Ministerial Plenary.

There is a tremendous focus in the country on sunrise sectors such as 5G, artificial intelligence, drones, semiconductors, blockchain, green energy, and space economy, the minister added.

Referring to the National Education Policy 2020, Dr Jitendra Singh says it opens myriad avenues to enhance our university-to-university links, joint academic programmes, credit portability and research partnership. He said, India is now open to foreign universities setting campuses in the country and we are hopeful that US Universities will take advantage of these opportunities.

The minister said, as two democracies with shared values, open exchange of knowledge remains key to our strong partnership. Indian students in the United States of America are integral to it, and so are our ties between universities and educational institutions on both sides.

The Kerala Center Announces 2022 Honorees For Annual Awards Banquet

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The Indian American Kerala Cultural and Civic Center, Inc. will honor six Indian American Malayalees for their outstanding achievements in their field of specialization and for their service to the society at its 30th Annual Awards Banquet to be held on October 22, 2022.  Randhir Jaiswal, Consul General of India, New York, NY senators Kevin Thomas and Anna Kaplan, and other dignitaries will be attending the event.

“Kerala Center has been honoring outstanding achievers since 1991. Every year we invite nominations and the committee has to make a unanimous choice for a candidate in a category to receive the award and this year is no different from previous years in terms of their achievements,” said Dr. Thomas Abraham, Kerala Center’s Trustee Board Chairman and Award Committee Member.

“Kerala Center is very happy to honor American Malayalees who excel in their professions and who work for social progress — their examples should be an inspiration for others,” said Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran, Board and Award Committee Chairman.

This year’s honorees include: Dr. Javad Hassan, Chairman of NeST Group, for Corporate Leadership, Thomas Joy, Suffolk County police officer and president of AMLEU, for Public Service; Bindiya Sabarinath, founder of Mayura School of Arts, in the category of Performing Arts; Dr. Silvester Noronha of MIT, in the category of  Applied Science, , P. T. Paulose, for contributions to Pravasi Malayalam Literature and Jose Kaniyaly, Executive Editor and Partner of Kerala Express weekly newspaper, for his contributions to Malayalam Media and Journalism. 

The awardees will be honored at the Kerala Center’s 30th Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, December 22, 2022, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Kerala Center, 1824 Fairfax St., Elmont, New York. There will be variety entertainment programs and a fabulous dinner for the evening.

Dr. Madhu Bhaskaran was the Award Committee Chairman and other members were Dr. Thomas Abraham, Daisy P. Stephen and Dr. Marilyn George. Kerala Center President Alex K. Esthappan said that the Center has recognized over 165 American Malayalees in the last 30 years and it is great to see that they have continued to rise further in their careers and serve the society. All are invited to join this Annual Award Banquet honoring the awardees. Please contact the Kerala Center to reserve your seats at: 516-358-2000 or at email: kc@keralacenterny.com.

 Javad K. Hassan – for Corporate Leadership

Javad K. Hassan is the founder and chairman of NeST Group, a global conglomerate of more than 25 companies spread across several continents. Under the leadership of Dr. Hassan, NeST Group has become a worldwide leader in technology, with operations in India, the Middle East, Japan, Europe and the Americas.  After earning his Master’s degree in Material Science and Engineering from the University of Bridgeport, he joined IBM. Within a span of ten years, he advanced to the top of the company’s semiconductor development operations, leading an organization of more than 2,000 engineers and scientists.  After leaving IBM, Mr. Hassan joined AMP Inc., another Fortune 100 firm. Since retiring in 1998 from AMP, Mr. Hassan has built JKH Holdings piece by piece, company by company, into what it is today: a global leader across a spectrum of technologies and industries.

Bindiya Sabarinath – for Performing Arts

Bindiya Sabarinath is the Artistic Director of the Mayura School of Arts established in 2001. Bindiya is an acclaimed Bharatanatyam and Mohiniyattam dancer.  She has performed extensively in India, UK and the US with solo programs and dance productions with her senior students. Her awards and recognitions include the presidential award for the best Mohiniyattam dancer representing Kerala in 1998, the Bergen County Cultural Community service award, and being bestowed the Kalaimamani Award from Chennai. She also got the opportunity to perform at the Indian Consulate & United Nations in New York. She has over 1000 students.

 Jose Kaniyaly – for Contributions to Malayalam Media and Journalism

Jose Kaniyaly is the Executive Editor and Partner of Kerala Express, a weekly Malayalam newspaper published from Chicago, which was founded in 1992.  He oversees both the print and online editions of Kerala Express. He has held leadership positions in many Malayalee social, cultural and community organizations in America.  He was president of Chicago Malayalee Association (CMA), president of India Press Club of North America (IPCNA), president of Knanaya Catholic Congress of North America (KCCNA) and chairman of FOKANA convention in Chicago.

 Thomas Joy – for Community Service

Thomas Joy has completed 25 years of service in the US Army which included combat duty in Iraq.  Since 2007 Thomas has served as a police officer and now serves in the Suffolk County Police Department, Long Island, NY. Thomas was the founding member of the Suffolk County Police Asian Jade Society. He is a board member of the Suffolk County Asian American Advisory Board.

Thomas is the first president of the American Malayalee Law Enforcement United (AMLEU) founded in 2020. The organization is a national law enforcement charity organization made up of Malayalee Americans in law enforcement. The organization focuses on community outreach, scholarships for college students and other philanthropic efforts. Thomas continues to serve the community through his career in law enforcement, serves the nation as a member of the US Army and continues his philanthropic efforts through the societies he founded.

  1. P. T. Paulose – for Contributions to Pravasi Malayalam Literature
  2. T. Pauloseis a journalist, freelance writer, a theatrical performer, director and an immense lover of Malayalam literature. He was the founder president of Calcutta Malayalee Association and founder Secretary of Bengal Rationalist Association. He wrote seven books in Malayalam including short stories, essays and dramas.  He presently writes short stories and essays in print and online medias. He is a coordinator of Sargavedi, New York which promotes Pravasi Malayalam writers. He is a winner of literary awards of FOKANA and Emalayalee.

Dr. Sylvester Noronha – for Applied Science

Dr. Silvester Noronha – is one of the team of scientists from MIT and startup company, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), who invented a large high-temperature superconducting electromagnet which would realize power generation by using heat from nuclear fusion reactions. The new electromagnet is the most powerful magnetic field of its kind ever created on earth. Silvester is currently a visiting faculty of MIT and a lead engineer of the CFS in the US. He got his PhD from the Indian Institute of Science in Material Science Engineering and took a post doctoral degree from Britain’s Oxford University.

Deciding on an International Partner

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Before choosing an international wife, you need to know about the country of her foundation. You also need to make sure that her valuations and life style are compatible with yours. When you have already https://take-action-with-keion.blubrry.net/2020/09/09/building-trust-in-the-relationship/ married an American woman, then you might want to consider a Russian wife. You can also choose a Ukrainian female, as they contain cosmopolitan appears, higher education amounts, and a beautiful body. The best way to find an intercontinental wife is through deliver order bride websites.

A foreign wife can be difficult to adapt to, and you ought to be prepared just for cultural and language differences. Yet , a foreign wife can be charming and loyal. A very good foreign better half can be a wonderful addition to your relationship. Select carefully and become prepared for the emotional and monetary complexities involved. A foreign wife may bring a different perspective to your relationship and add variety on your your life. If you are not comfortable with the ethnical differences, in that case it’s not likely the best option in your case.

Before choosing an international partner, you should start out dating women in your home country. You will discover many men who will be dissatisfied with the marriage state in the US. Visiting German born or A-language communities in the area can help you find someone with whom you can communicate. You will be able continue your relationship with the expectation of one moment acquiring a western wife. For many males, this is a great opportunity to find a keen partner.

Although is actually not easy to find an international wife, it can be fulfilling. You’ll be able to satisfy many women and have a variety of activities. A large number of international females may be consist of relationships or perhaps married to other men. However , you will need to know the regulations and culture of her nation before you take the plunge and get married. Don’t be afraid to bargain for a big wife, for the reason that benefits happen to be phenomenal. The only problem is that it could be a bit difficult to get a partner who will meet your outlook.

While biblical bible passages tend not to encourage the practice of international relationships, some Somebody verses support the idea of worldwide wives. Women who has occupied another region for years will not automatically adjust to the traditions of her husband and family, and she’ll have to adapt to a brand new culture. If you are married to a international female, you’ll be able to reap the benefits of her vast experience and culture. Is actually not essential to be a perfect person to be a great wife. It is critical to be devoted, https://newwife.net/best-countries/latin/cuban-brides/ religious, and dedicated to your partner’s lifestyle.

In the past, a mail buy bride via a developing country may have been a surprise to her friends and family. However , today, mail purchase brides shall no longer be considered a secret. Some folk consider submit purchase bride marriages to be economically beneficial, specifically if this allows a person to develop a family in the husband’s country. The women likewise contribute to the economy of their partner’s country by paying out taxes and raising many children.

Greatest Free You Night Stand Sites

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If you’re buying a one night time stand and don’t have lots of time to spend, there are several sites out there that can help. Using the appropriate one can make your experience considerably more pleasurable and rewarding. The good news is, these websites provide all of the services you have to examine hookups soon!

Reddit and Craigslist Activities

If you need to find a one nighttime stand using a local person, then you should certainly check out these websites. These sites will certainly let you create a post and search for people that live near you. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpersonal_relationship Then, you are able to send these people a message and try to talk to them.

AdultFriendFinder

This site is https://mr-hookup.com/ reputed for being one of the very best sites for finding an individual night stands. The dating profiles are very specific, and the client support team is certainly quick to respond to your needs. However , it’s vital that you remember that this web site is not for the faint of heart.

Ashley Madison

In case you haven’t tried it, you should definitely give this excellent website a go. The new popular dating internet site that has more than 54 million members and is an excellent place to meet women of all ages in your area. It’s also free to create a profile and search for suits.

Tinder

If you’re buying a local an individual night stand, after that Tinder is a fantastic option. It is going to show you background of people within your area, and all you have to do is swipping left or perhaps good for a match. You can also use the site based filtration system to see who’s within taking walks distance.

Hinge

The Hinge iphone app is a great approach to fulfill sexy local residences in your area, and it could be easy to build a video time frame with somebody you like. The site’s chat and video features are a great way to have a feel to get a potential night out, and you can even find some fun conversing starters which you can use on your first dates.

BuddyBang

The lustful adults of the world flock to this site with regard to their adult flings and hookups. Its advanced search filters are a great way to narrow down your options, and it could be very affordable to sign up with a month to month subscription.

Hinge also offers a great mobile app so you can easily check your profile and messages right from anywhere. The internet site also offers an ad-free membership, which is perfect for finding an individual night stands.

Benaughty

If you’re a bit of a excitement seeker, then simply Benaughty may be the place to be. This kind of adult internet dating site is so popular and boasts an incredible number of active users monthly. It’s also easy to use and has a fully-functioning application for Android os and iOS users.

LiveSexAsian

There are also a number of search filters available, and you can likewise upload your have photo in the event that you’d want to. The site has a special blog corner and a Sex Prep school to help you improve your sexual expertise.

AdultFriendFinder

The adults on this site are looking for informal mates who are able to do anything to enhance their a single night stands. They have a selection of sexual fetishes, and they could make the whole knowledge a lot more exciting with their attention-grabbing tactics.

Putin Escalates War In Ukraine After Narendra Modi Offers To Contribute To Peace Efforts

Staff ReporterWorld 0

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 4th told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that his country is ready to contribute to peace efforts in the ongoing conflict with Russia that has raged for seven months.

“I know that today’s era is not of war,” Mr. Modi told Mr. Putin had told Putin, describing global challenges like the food and energy crises that were hitting developing countries especially hard. “Today we will get a chance to discuss how we can move forward on the path of peace.”

However, NY Times reported that “After India’s prime minister said that now is not the time for war, an increasingly isolated Mr. Putin threatened “more serious” actions in Ukraine while insisting he was ready for talks.”

The war hasn’t gone Putin’s way. The Pentagon said in August that Russian casualties could be as high as 80,000, and that number has likely risen in recent months. In an effort to address Russia’s manpower problems, Putin recently announced a partial military mobilization, as well as various stop-loss measures, but things are not going well. There’s been local resistance to the draft, and tens of thousands of Russians have fled the country.

Putin also signed the annexation of four Ukrainian regions last week, despite the fact that Russia does not fully control or occupy these regions. In the time since, Ukrainian forces have recaptured territory in these areas. Recent reporting suggests that even members of Putin’s inner circle have begun to openly criticize the botched invasion, an action that can be dangerous and even deadly.

“He expressed his firm conviction that there can be no military solution to the conflict and conveyed India’s readiness to contribute to any peace efforts,” the Indian prime minister’s office said in a statement after a telephone conversation between Modi and Zelenskiy.

India is articulating its position against the Ukraine war more robustly to counter criticism that it is soft on Russia, but it still has neither held Moscow responsible for the invasion nor altered its policy on importing cheap Russian oil and coal. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.

The “Prime Minister emphasized the importance India attaches to the safety and security of nuclear installations, including in Ukraine,” the statement said.

He also reiterated the importance of respecting the UN Charter, International Law, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states.

During his conversation with the Ukrainian president, Modi emphasised the importance India attaches to the safety and security of nuclear installations, including in Ukraine.

The prime minister underlined that endangerment of nuclear facilities could have far-reaching and catastrophic consequences for public health and the environment, the statement said.

The two leaders also touched upon important areas of bilateral cooperation, following up on their last meeting in Glasgow in November 2021, it said.

Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the attacks on the Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest atomic power complex.

Also, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday signed treaties to absorb the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine, including the area around the nuclear plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency had said Saturday that Russia told it that the “director-general of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was temporarily detained to answer questions”.

The Vienna-based IAEA has said, “in line with its nuclear safety mandate”, it “has been actively seeking clarifications and hopes for a prompt and satisfactory resolution of this matter”.

The conversation between Modi and Zalenskyy comes a couple of weeks after the former had pressed Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine soon, saying “today’s era is not of war”. Modi had also called for finding ways to address the global food and energy security crisis.

In a bilateral meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Samakand last month, Modi had underlined the importance of “democracy, dialogue and diplomacy” while calling for an early cessation of hostilities in Ukraine.

“Today the biggest worry before the world, especially developing countries, is food security, fuel security, fertilisers. We must find ways on these problems and you will also have to consider it. We will get an opportunity to talk about these issues,” Modi had said during his meeting with Putin.

It was the first in-person meeting between the two leaders after the Ukraine conflict began in February. “I know today’s era is not of war. We discussed this issue with you on phone several times, that democracy, diplomacy and dialogue touch the entire world. We will have the opportunity to talk today about how we can move forward on the road of peace in the coming days,” Modi had said.

India’s Socialist Leader Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav Passes Away At 82

Staff ReporterIndia, Profile 0

Mulayam Singh Yadav, India’s former defense minister and a veteran socialist leader, founder of  Samajwadi Party, three-time chief minister of India’s largest state of Uttar Pradeshdied in Gurugram on Monday, October 10, 2022 after a prolonged illness. Yadav was 82 and was on life support for a week. He was admitted to the Medanta hospital in Gurugram on August 22.

The 82-year-old Samajwadi Party patriarch was facing difficulty in breathing and was under the supervision of an internal medicine expert at the Medanta Hospital, as per sources. Singh was suffering from a urinary infection as well, hospital sources had said. On Sunday, Medanta Hospital had put out a health bulletin stating that the veteran leader’s condition was quite critical and that he was on life-saving drugs.

His mortal remains will be taken to his native village Sefai in Etawah in Uttar Pradesh later on Monday. Meanwhile, thousands of supporters gathered outside the Medanta hospital in Gurugram, grieving Yadav’s death.  In a tweet, his son Akhilesh Yadav said, “My respected father and everyone’s leader is no more.”

The founder of the Samajwadi Party was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Medanta hospital in Gurugram on October 1, with breathing problems and was later shifted to the ICU of the hospital due to his critical condition. He was later placed on life-supporting drugs.

Yadav, a three-time chief minister of India’s most populous Uttar Pradesh state, was a former wrestler who rose in politics in the 1980s when a federally appointed commission set up to identify the “socially backward classes” in the country led to a nationwide agitation. It was during these protests Yadav emerged as a socialist leader by defending the demands of the so-called backward castes and religious minorities.

In 1990, when Yadav was Uttar Pradesh state’s chief minister, he ordered police firing on Hindu protesters in the northern Ayodhya city when they were marching towards the 16th-century Babri mosque to reclaim it as a grand temple for the Hindu god Ram. At least 16 people were killed in police action.

When the mosque was eventually razed to the ground by Hindu mobs in 1992, sparking massive communal violence across India, Muslims credited Yadav for having saved it two years before. The community became his party’s major voting bloc.

A year later, he became the state’s chief minister for the second time after stitching an alliance with a regional party after Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party was gaining ground on the back of Hindu nationalism. In 1996, Yadav rose to national prominence when he became India’s defense minister in a United Front coalition government.

The news of the death was met with howls of grief and tears from the crowd of supporters outside the hospital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes, tweeting that Mulayam Singh Yadav’s death had left a huge loss in Indian politics.

“He was our beloved leader who played a major role in the development of Uttar Pradesh. His contribution towards the development of UP cannot be forgotten,” a supporter of the leader outside the hospital said.

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled Yadav demise and called him an icon of the socialist movement. He wrote a letter to Akhilesh Yadav and expressed grief: “He was a leader of high esteem who was respected by everybody irrespective of party lines. He was an Icon of the Socialist Movement and had been elected to the Uttar Pradesh State Assembly and to the Lok Sabha several times. He served as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and also Union Minister many times. He was a great Parliamentarian and a distinguished administrator who devoted his whole life to the service of the poor and other backward communities.”

He added, “My wife joins me to convey to you and other members of your family our deepest condolences on this sad occasion. May God give all of you the strength to bear this great loss with courage and fortitude,” he added.

President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari expressed condolences on the demise of Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

President Murmu in a tweet in Hindi described Yadav as a tall grassroots level leader who rose to prominence from a simple background. She described the former defense minister as a leader with extraordinary abilities and said that his demise was a “great loss” to the nation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was pained by Yadav’s demise and recalled his long association with the socialist leader. “I had many interactions with Mulayam Singh Yadav Ji when we served as Chief Ministers of our respective states. The close association continued and I always looked forward to hearing his views. His demise pains me. Condolences to his family and lakhs of supporters. Om Shanti,” he tweeted.

“He was widely admired as a humble and grounded leader who was sensitive to people’s problems. He served people diligently and devoted his life towards popularising the ideals of Loknayak JP and Dr. Lohia,” the Prime Minister wrote further.

Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari offered his condolences to Yadav’s family and recalled that he personally received lots of affection from the departed leader.
 Gadkari said that he got Yadav’s full support for his policy initiatives on regularising e-rickshaws in the country.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh described Mulayam Singh Yadav as a stalwart Lohiaite, who had admirers across the political spectrum.

Former Defense Minister A.K. Antony of the Congress said Yadav, who had served in the same portfolio before him, was a far-sighted politician and statesman. “Even though Yadav was the Defense Minister for a brief period, none can forget his far sightedness as during every discussion on defence in Parliament, he had just one thing to say ‘be wary of China’, if not, it will be difficult to tackle. See how right he was,” the country’s longest serving Defense Minister said.

A teacher by profession and a trained wrestler, Yadav belonged to a family of farmers with no political background. He became influenced by the writings of socialist Ram Manohar Lohia.

In his long career, Yadav was known to have allies on all sides of the political spectrum and was often projected as a candidate for the job of India’s prime minister.  Even though he never came close to becoming the prime minister, his party remained a major partner to many coalition governments, as Uttar Pradesh sends the highest number of lawmakers to the lower house of India’s parliament.

In 2012, Yadav handed the charge of his political party to his son, who became the state’s chief minister for five years. Yadav will be remembered by as a “soldier for democracy” and a “grassroots leader” who stood for a secular India.

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra Completes 1 Month On The Road

Staff ReporterIndia, Profile 0

Rahul Gandhi, former President of Congress Party-led Bharat Jodo Yatra, launched on September 7th, 2022 at Kanniyakumari, the southern tip of India has completed a month, having covered a distance of over 700 kms across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

Congress Party said in a series of tweets that the former party chief made the “first call to unite India” when he launched the Yatra on September 7 from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. The party also shared several videos of the Yatra as well as people joining Gandhi on his journey. On Saturday, Gandhi stated that the goal of the Bharat Jodo Yatra was to unite the people of the country rather than to fight “violence and hatred” spread by the BJP-RSS.

Starting the Karnataka leg of the padayatra by walking alongside a young girl dressed as Bharat Mata (Mother India) at Mandya district, Mr. Gandhi was joined by the late Gauri Lankesh’s mother, Indira, and sister in the evening.

“Gauri stood for Truth. Gauri stood for Courage. Gauri stood for Freedom. I stand for Gauri Lankesh and countless others like her, who represent the true spirit of India. Bharat Jodo Yatra is their voice. It can never be silenced,” Mr. Gandhi tweeted while sharing the picture of him walking with Ms. Indira, holding her hand.

In the next 120 days, the Congress is not only hoping that the padayatra would become a path to its political revival revival by raising issues like inflation, unemployment and communal polraisation through ‘divisive’ politics but also repackage Mr. Gandhi as a people’s politician.

“It’s a transformation of the Congress party and it shows the real Rahul Gandhi coming out. I would not say it is the new Rahul Gandhi but the real Rahul Gandhi that is being seen,” Congress communication chief Jairam Ramesh told PTI, adding that Mr. Gandhi’s interactions with civil society, party workers and his super fitness are what comprises the “real Mr. Rahul Gandhi”.

The Congress has carefully showcased the compassionate side of Mr. Gandhi by sharing images of him tying the shoe laces of his mother and party chief Sonia Gandhi, delivering a speech in Mysuru despite a heavy downpour and enthusiastic interactions with youngsters in the past 30 days.

Apart from the image make-over, the party has also aimed to bring together different factions in States like poll-bound Kerala.

“We are on the roads, on the streets, we are fighting the BJP. We are taking the battle to their camp. We are raising issues. We are not reacting. Now, the BJP is reacting to us and that I think is the greatest contribution of the yatra. It’s psychological rather than electoral,” Mr. Ramesh added.

In a tweet, the grand old party of India stated: “It was our resolve to question the fascist govt. Within a month, it has truly taken shape of a large-scale movement. Across states, similar Yatras are taking shape. It will go down in history as a pivot in Indian politics. This is only the beginning.”

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Getting a sugar daddy can be one of the lucrative things you can do in your life. The reason is they have spent most of their lives creating wealth and influence, and they are generally looking for somebody who can share that with these people.

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AAPI Holds Educational Webinar On South Asian Heart Disease: Current Concepts in Better Prediction, Detection and Prevention of Heart Attack in South Asians

Staff ReporterEducation, Health 0

Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and the nation spends over $500 billion on cardiovascular disease each year. Studies have shown that immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal are experiencing a dramatic rise in heart disease. South Asians make up 25 percent of the world’s population, but they contribute 60 percent of global cardiovascular deaths.

In this context, as part of an ongoing awareness and education campaign about high-risk heart disease in South Asians, the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) the largest ethnic medical organization in the United States presented two eminent speakers and experts, discussing ways to create awareness on South Asian Heart Disease: Current Concepts in Better Prediction, Detection And Prevention of Heart Attack in South Asians during a webinar on Saturday, October 1, 2022. 

Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, CEO of Verve Therapeutics, Brood Institute, MIT & Harvard, spoke on “Genomics of Cardiovascular Disease and Potential Use of Genomic in Better Prediction in South Asians,” and Dr. Jaideep Patel addressed the audience on “Early Detection of Coronary Atherosclerosis By Coronary Calcium Score And Coronary CTA, Especially Among South Asians.” 

In his remarks, Dr. Ravi Kolli, President of AAPI, said,” In the context of World Heart Day on September 29th, today’s conference is being organized to educate and create awareness about the major health issue faced by South Asians and offer ways to mitigate heart disease. Dr. Kolli said, “Today’s CME is focused on Recent Advances in South Asian Heart Disease by 2 eminent Indian American physicians who are in the forefront of research and treatment of this deadly disease. It is forward-looking information focusing on cutting edge technologies that can alter the treatment from chronic care model to once and done type of innovative therapies and latest recommendation for actively screening and offering early preventive care to treat cardiovascular disease, especially among the South Asians.”  

During his detailed presentation, Dr. Sekar Kathiresan, a physician-scientist, and a human geneticist, who leverages human genetics to understand the root causes of heart attack and to improve preventive cardiac care, shared about his scientific contributions, that have helped highlight new biological mechanisms underlying heart attack, discovered mutations that protect against heart attack risk, and developed a genetic test for personalized heart attack prevention.

According to him, both genetic and lifestyle factors contribute to individual-level risk of coronary artery disease. The extent to which increased genetic risk can be offset by a healthy lifestyle is unknown. Citing data, Dr. Kathiresan said, across four studies involving 55,685 participants, genetic and lifestyle factors were independently associated with susceptibility to coronary artery disease. Among participants with high genetic risk, a favorable lifestyle was associated with a nearly 50% lower relative risk of coronary artery disease than was an unfavorable lifestyle. 

Dr. Sekar Kathiresan is the co-founder and CEO of Verve Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a new approach to the care of cardiovascular disease, transforming treatment from chronic management to single-course gene editing medicines. Dr. Kathiresan is a cardiologist and scientist who has focused his career on understanding the inherited basis for heart attack and leveraging those insights to improve the care of cardiovascular disease. Based on his groundbreaking discoveries in human genetic mutations that confer resistance to cardiovascular disease

Dr. Jaideep Patel, in his presentation on “Coronary Atherosclerosis By Coronary Calcium Score And Coronary CTA” drew the attention of the audience to the Coronary Calcium Scoring algorithm, which is capable of automatically calculating a patient’s Agatston equivalent coronary calcium score from ECG gated CT scan, provides physicians with important data used in the assessment of the risk for coronary artery disease.

Dr. Jaideep Patel is a cardiologist in Baltimore, Maryland and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area, including at the Heart & Vascular Center at Johns Hopkins University, with primary focus on Preventive Cardiology, pointed out that usual risk scoring has been done on Caucasians and cannot be extrapolated to south Asians. Citing Multiethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, that he was part of Dr. Patel said, Coronary artery calcium improves risk assessment in adults with a family history of premature coronary heart disease.  Hereditary factors play an important role in the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Indeed, the presence of a family history (FH) of premature coronary heart disease (CHD) was one of the earliest recognized cardiovascular risk factors, he said. 

Dr. Brahma Sharma, Senior Faculty at the University of Pittsburgh affiliated VA Medical Center,  a co-host and moderator of the event, said, “While we are still trying to figure out different mechanisms for this enigma, that should not prevent but rather motivate to follow more aggressively lifestyle modifications and pre-empt and prevent this silent epidemic that is taking a toll on young Indians and South Asians globally.” Dr. Sharma who is serving as the Chair of AAPI South Asian Heart Disease Committee and as the Chair AHA/ AAPI Liaison, sharing on the objectives of the Heart Health Education sessions by AAPI, Dr. Sharma said, “The Webinar is focused on: Better Prediction; Early Detection; and, Effective Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases, especially among the people of South Asian origin.”  

Dr. Sreeni Gangasani, Chair of AAPI CME Committee, said, “In addition to educational webinars, we also plan to take this knowledge to grass root level via conducting mini- health screening camps across different cities with help of local AAPI chapters throughout USA and invite Global South Asian diaspora to join hands in this mission to prevent heart attacks and save lives.”
In his concluding remarks, Dr. Kolli said, “heart disease is the number one Global Public Health problem. South Asians are at a four-times greater risk of heart disease than their western counterparts and have a greater chance of having a heart attack before 50 years of age. Heart attacks strike South Asian Men and Women at younger ages, and as a result, both morbidity and mortality are higher among them compared to any other ethnic group. They tend to develop heart disease ten years earlier than other groups. Efforts to raise awareness of heart disease and promote “Healthy Heart” lifestyles is essential.”  For more information on AAPI and its programs, please visit: www.aapiusa.org

Kamal Haasan’s Vikram To Be Screened At BIFF

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Superstar Kamal Haasan-fronted Tamil blockbuster Vikram is set to be screened at the 27th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), the makers announced last week. The film will be screened at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) slated to take place from October 5-14.

Vikram is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj and produced by Raaj Kamal Films International. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Vijay Sethupathi and Fahadh Faasil. Kalidas Jayaram, Narain and Chemban Vinod Jose had played supporting roles while Suriya makes a cameo appearance as Rolex.

‘Vikram’ will be screened under the Open Cinema category that recognises new and internationally acclaimed films that strike the perfect balance between popular and artistic cinema.

Produced by multi-faceted legend Kamal Haasan and R. Mahendran, ‘Vikram’ released on June 3 earlier this year and went on to become a box office phenomenon across the world and also the highest grossing Tamil film in the UK. Director Lokesh Kanagaraj masterfully created an immersive universe in the film. That coupled with a stellar star cast made ‘Vikram’ one of the most successful Indian movies of 2022.

“The response to Vikram all over the world has been extremely overwhelming. The Busan International Film Festival is another feather in the film’s cap and its selection is a win for the entire team. We are proud to have our film being screened along with some of the finest films across the globe and are grateful for all the love and adulation from the audiences,” said V. Narayanan, CEO Raaj Kamal Films International.

India Abstains Again From Condemning Russia’s Aggression In Ukraine

Staff ReporterIndia, World 0

India has abstained on a draft resolution tabled in the UN Security Council which condemned Russia’s “illegal referenda” and annexation of four Ukrainian territories.

The UNSC called for an immediate cessation of violence while underlining the need to find pathways for a return to the negotiating table.

India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said that India was deeply disturbed by the recent turn of developments in Ukraine and New Delhi has always advocated that no solution can ever arrive at the cost of human lives.

“We urge that all efforts are made by concerned sides for the immediate cessation of violence and hostilities. Dialogue is the only answer to settling differences and disputes, however daunting that may appear at this moment,” she said.

“The path to peace requires us to keep all channels of diplomacy open,” she said, adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “unequivocally conveyed” this in his discussions with world leaders, including with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

She also referred to statements made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Ukraine during the high-level General Assembly session last week.

Referring to Modi’s remark to Putin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit in Uzbekistan’s Samarkand that “today’s era is not an era of war”, Kamboj said New Delhi sincerely hopes for an early resumption of peace talks to bring about an immediate ceasefire and resolution of the conflict.

“India’s position has been clear and consistent from the very beginning of this conflict. The global order is anchored on the principles of the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and the territorial integrity of all states. Escalation of rhetoric or tension is in no one’s interest,” she said.

“It is important that pathways are found for a return to the negotiating table. Keeping in view the totality of the evolving situation, India decided to abstain on the resolution,” Kamboj said. The draft resolution was tabled by the US and Albania which condemns Russia’s “organization of illegal so-called referenda in regions within Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders.”

The 15-nation UN Security Council on Friday voted on the draft, of the 15-nation Council, 10 nations voted for the resolution while China, Gabon, India and Brazil abstained. The resolution failed to get adopted as Russia vetoed it.

The resolution declares that Russia’s “unlawful actions” with regards to the “illegal so-called referenda” taken on September 23 to 27 this year in parts of Ukraine’s regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya that are under Russia’s temporary control can have “no validity” and cannot form the basis for any alteration of the status of these regions of Ukraine, including any “purported annexation” of any of these regions by Moscow.

Earlier, Russian President Putin on Friday had proclaimed the annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

The announcement came a day after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “any annexation of a State’s territory by another State resulting from the threat or use of force is a violation of the Principles of the UN Charter and international law.”

“Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned,” Guterres said.

“It cannot be reconciled with the international legal framework. It stands against everything the international community is meant to stand for. It flouts the purposes and principles of the United Nations. It is a dangerous escalation. It has no place in the modern world. It must not be accepted,” the UN chief said.

The resolution also calls upon all States, international organisations and specialised agencies not to recognize any alteration of the status of Ukraine’s regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson or Zaporizhzhya on the basis of Russia’s “unlawful actions” with regards to the illegal so-called referenda taken on September 23 to 27, and to refrain from any action or dealing that might be interpreted as recognising any such altered status.

It also decides that Russia shall “immediately, completely and unconditionally” withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders, which includes those regions addressed by the “illegal so-called referenda” to enable a peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine through political dialogue, negotiation, mediation or other peaceful means. 

Foreign Policy In A Divided World: Will India Rise To The Occasion?

Staff ReporterIndia, World 0

By, Ambassador Amit Dasgupta

Today, several other countries are gaining greater respect and acceptability in the comity of nations. India, certainly, is one of them. What is perhaps likely to happen is that global leadership would be a shared responsibility.

We are living in difficult times. The global community is confronted by extraordinary and unprecedented turbulence that has divided rather than united them. The world order is increasingly characterized by deep insecurity, resulting in polarization, insularity, instability, and xenophobia.

The conduct of foreign policy in such a scenario can be daunting, especially for developing countries, such as India, which needs to tread carefully, so that it might avoid being caught in the crossfire between opposing powers. New Delhi is acutely aware that a strong foreign policy, based on the pursuance of national interests, is going to be increasingly challenging. The Russia-Ukrainian war, for instance, tested India’s ability to maintain its strategic autonomy. In the process, New Delhi was able to import the S 400 missile systems and much-needed energy resources from Russia. But when it was in India’s overall interest to gently convey its misgivings to President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Modi did so, when the two leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand.

By refusing to take sides in the Great Power rivalry, New Delhi has retained flexibility and more importantly, the ability to persuade where others have failed. Putin understood that Modi spoke as a friend and well-wisher. Quiet diplomacy is often far more persuasive than aggressive posturing.

Perceptions matter 

In a deeply divided environment, India knows that the cold calculus of diplomacy needs to be based on realism, pragmatism, and perceptions. Human behaviour is largely a derivative of perceptions, which, in turn, are based on experiential evidence.  This, in turn, impacts expectations and finally, output.

Consider New Delhi’s perception of Pakistan, for instance. Decades of cross-border terrorism, death of innocent civilians, the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, the disclosures of the arrested terrorist Kasab, and a whole range of other acts committed with the full support of the Pakistan government and military naturally create the perception that Islamabad is driven by an anti-India psyche. This perception is based on experience and would necessarily impact expectations. In other words, it would influence the thinking that dialogue with Islamabad would be unproductive. The output, consequently, is status quo. Indeed, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had once famously said that it was difficult to talk with someone who shakes your hand above the table, while kicking you from underneath.

India realizes that, despite global condemnation of terrorism and Islamabad’s poor track record in this regard, Pakistan enjoys emphatic support from Beijing. China has put on hold, for instance, a US proposal in the UN Security Council to designate Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) handler, Sajid Mir, as a global terrorist. China today counts for 72 per cent of major arms supplies to Pakistan. But then, US actions are equally strange. In a bizarre move recently, when Pakistan is reeling under ravaging floods, Washington supplied it with F16s.

Take the case of China. New Delhi’s perception, which is shared by the global community, is that under Xi Jinping, China has become belligerent, antagonistic, and hegemonic. Several countries, ranging from the US to Australia, recognize that a rising China would threaten the global order. Yet, they do business with them, as indeed does India. Australia’s two-way trade with China is $250 billion in comparison to $25 billion with India. In 2020, the two-way US-China goods trade was $560 billion. According to data from the Indian Commerce Ministry, bilateral trade in 2020-21 between India and the US stood at a little under $120 billion, almost equivalent with China, which stood at $115.42 billion.

China matches its economic clout with its military ambitions. The South China Sea dispute, its treatment of the Uighur Muslim population, the crushing of internal threats and dissidence, its unequivocal support to Pakistan, its wooing of India’s neighbours, and its August 2020 misadventure to alter the status quo on the border with India are prime examples of China’s perception of its national interest. New Delhi is acutely aware that it lives in a troubling and troubled neighbourhood. Credible perceptions of Beijing’s behaviour, both past and present, make it amply clear that dialogue between the two countries needs to be based on pragmatism and limited expectations.

National interest and ethics 

National interest has always been the prime focus of foreign policy, especially of the Great Powers. Developing countries, on the other hand, were forced to compromise and adjust to externally imposed decisions or face dire consequences, which included the assassination of their leaders, and the replacement of their governments with a more pliable leadership. The CIA’s activities in this regard are well documented.

While no country would admit to conducting an unethical foreign policy, the fact is that national interest and ethics are not always compatible. The great champions of democracy, for instance, prefer to deal with dictatorships and autocracies and are accepting of extreme violations of human rights and civil liberties. The US involvement in Vietnam, the imposition of ruthless dictators in Latin America, regime change in Iraq, the hasty and unilateral withdrawal from Afghanistan, to name a few, can hardly be classified as being ethical or morally justified. Indeed, even a former British prime minister was frustrated enough to refer to the American exit from Afghanistan as “imbecilic”. Similarly, the recent visit by US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia to discuss with the monarchy, despite CIA reports that the Crown Prince was personally involved in the killing of the Washington Post reporter, an American citizen of Saudi descent, reflects the primacy of national interest. Ethics plays no part in this and is, at best, an inconvenience.

India realizes that in the fractured world we live in, the strength of a nation lies in its ability to safeguard its national interest. India has refused to outsource this and consequently, Is not a member of any security alliance. If there is military aggression by Pakistan and China, India needs to rely on its own resources. As part of its national interest, therefore, India needs to enhance its military capability while, simultaneously, keeping channels of communication open to ensure that armed confrontation may be avoided or entered into only as a last resort.

The safeguarding of national interest assumes that the threats to national interest are minimized and finally, eliminated. Consequently, the core emphasis of Indian diplomacy has been to win friends across the globe. This, in fact, has been the building block of Indian foreign policy since independence. It has served us well and continues to be relevant.

Leadership in a disorderly world

The world is in chaos and faces a leadership vacuum. US influence is declining, and it is no longer seen as a reliable partner. Russia appears to be teetering on the brink of collapse. China’s rise is increasingly perceived as a global threat. Europe continues to remain disunited. The UN has, for all practical purposes, lost its utility. Uncertainty hangs over the global community like a shroud. There is, consequently, anxiety as to how the prevailing disorder may be stemmed, especially in the face of multiple challenges and new threats.

Around a hundred years ago (in 1923), British philosopher Bertrand Russell had written in one of his essays, “America controls the world and will continue to do so, until Russia is prosperous and Europe united”. This prediction is increasingly coming to be proved wrong. Today, several other countries are gaining greater respect and acceptability in the comity of nations. India, certainly, is one of them. What is perhaps likely to happen is that global leadership would be a shared responsibility. During the pandemic, for instance, India established its leadership role, which earned it the title of ‘pharmacy of the world’. 

On solar power, India has leapfrogged and is set to achieve ambitious targets. On the manufacture of semiconductors, recent initiatives suggest that India might well overtake China as a global supplier. At the same time, New Delhi is conscious that a successful foreign policy is entirely dependent on the number of friends it has around the globe.

These are difficult times for any county and the crafting of its foreign policy in complex and complicated terrain will be challenging. It requires patience and perseverance. As the great chess grandmaster, Alekhine, once said, “When you make your first move on the chessboard, you must already know how you plan to end the game”. A strong foreign policy requires a long-term vision, critical to which is the way a nation projects itself and is perceived by others, both in terms of domestic policies and governance, as also its conduct on the international stage and global affairs.

(Ambassador Amit Dasgupta is a former Indian diplomat. This article is based on a talk delivered by him on August 29 2022, at Christ University, Bengaluru, at an event sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. Views are personal. Read more at: https://www.southasiamonitor.org/spotlight/foreign-policy-divided-world-will-india-rise-occasion

Svante Paabo Chosen For Nobel Prize In Physics For His Neanderthal Work

Staff ReporterEducation, Science 0

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has gone to Sweden’s Svante Paabo for his work on human evolution. 

The Prize committee said he achieved the seemingly impossible task of cracking the genetic code of one of our extinct relatives – Neanderthals.

He also performed the “sensational” feat of discovering the previously unknown relative – Denisovans.

His work helped explore our own evolutionary history and how humans spread around the planet. 

The Swedish geneticist’s work gets to the heart of some of the most fundamental questions – where do we come from and what allowed us, Homo sapiens, to succeed while our relatives went extinct.

He was just off to pick his daughter up from a sleepover when he got the call saying he’d won. He told the BBC: “I was very surprised and overwhelmed, I had not expected this.” 

In the 1990s, research on working out the human genetic code was taking place at pace. But that relied on fresh samples of pristine DNA.

Prof Paabo’s interest was in the old, degraded and contaminated genetic material from our ancestors. Many thought it was an impossible challenge. But he was, for the first time, able to sequence DNA from a 40,000-year-old piece of bone.

Those results showed that Neanderthals – who mostly lived in Europe and Western Asia – were distinct from both modern day humans and chimpanzees.

His work focused on hominins – the group of modern humans that includes us, Homo sapiens, but also our extinct relatives. 

“By revealing genetic differences that distinguish all living humans from extinct hominins, his discoveries provide the basis for exploring what makes us uniquely human”, the Nobel committee said.

Further comparisons between Neanderthal DNA and humans from around the world showed their DNA was a closer match to humans coming from Europe or Asia. 

This tells us that Homo sapiens had sex and children with Neanderthals after migrating out of Africa around 70,000 years ago. 

And you can still see the legacy of that today. Between 1-4% of modern human DNA comes from our Neanderthal relatives and this even affects our body’s ability to respond to infection.

Cave finger

The next seismic contribution to human origins came in 2008. Scientists had found a 40,000-year-old finger bone in the Denisova cave, in Siberia.

Prof Paabo was able to sequence a sample of DNA and the results showed it was a previously unknown hominin – known as Denisovans. 

And it turned out Homo sapiens bred with Denisovans too. In parts of South East Asia up to 6% of people’s DNA is Denisovan. 

Some of this genetic inheritance helps the body cope with low levels of oxygen, aids survival at high altitudes and is found in present-day Tibetans. 

Prof Paabo only heard the news this morning when he was called by Thomas Perlmann, the secretary for the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine.

“He was overwhelmed, he was speechless. Very happy,” said Prof Perlmann.

Prof Paabo is seen as one of the founders of the scientific discipline of paleogenomics. He wins the 10m Swedish kronor (£800,000) prize. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Sune Bergstrom, who won the same Nobel Prize in 1982.

His work shows there were already two distinct groups of hominins (Neanderthals and Denisovans) living in Eurasia when Homo sapiens spread from Africa.

Analysis suggests these now extinct populations were small and relatively inbred and may not have been able to compete with rapidly expanding modern humans. (Courtesy: BBC)

‘Love Hormone’ Oxytocin May Help Mend Broken Hearts (Literally), Lab Study Suggests

Staff ReporterHealth 0

By, Nicoletta Lanese

Oxytocin, sometimes called the “love hormone,” may help heal broken hearts — literally. In a new study of zebrafish and human cells, scientists found that the brain-made hormone may help heart tissue regenerate after injury and, in theory, could someday be used in the treatment of heart attacks, according to the researchers.

Because the new study was conducted in fish tanks and lab dishes, however, this theoretical treatment is still far from realization.

Oxytocin has been nicknamed the “love” or “cuddle” hormone for its known role in forging social bonds and trust between people, and its levels often rise when people cuddle, have sex or orgasm. However, the so-called love hormone also serves many other functions in the body, such as triggering contractions during childbirth and promoting lactation afterward. Oxytocin also helps guard the cardiovascular system from injury by lowering blood pressure, reducing inflammation and diffusing free radicals, a reactive byproduct of normal cell metabolism, according to a 2020 review in the journal Frontiers in Psychology (opens in new tab). 

The new study, published Friday (Sept. 30) in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology (opens in new tab), highlights yet another potential benefit of oxytocin: At least in zebrafish, the hormone helps the heart replace injured and dead cardiomyocytes, the muscle cells that power heart contractions. Early results in human cells hint that oxytocin could stimulate similar effects in people, if delivered with the right timing and dose.

The heart has a very limited ability to repair or replace damaged or dead tissue, the study authors noted in their report. But several studies suggest that after an injury, like a heart attack, a subset of cells in the heart’s outermost membrane, called the epicardium, don a new identity. These cells migrate down into the layer of heart tissue where muscles reside and transform into stem-like cells, which can then turn into several heart cells types, including cardiomyocytes. 

This process has largely been studied in animals and there’s some evidence to suggest that it may also occur in adult humans. Unfortunately, if the process does occur in people, it seems to unfold too inefficiently and in too few cells to result in meaningful tissue regeneration after a heart attack, the study authors said in a statement (opens in new tab). By somehow encouraging more epicardial cells to morph into cardiomyocytes, the authors theorize, scientists could help the heart rebuild itself after injury. 

The study authors found they could jump-start this process in human cells in a lab dish by exposing them to oxytocin. They also tested 14 other brain-made hormones, but none of the others could coax the cells into the desired stem-like state required to make new cardiomyocytes, according to the statement.  

The team then conducted follow-up experiments in zebrafish, a fish in the minnow family known for its impressive ability to regenerate tissues in its body, including the brain, bones and heart. The team found that, within three days of a cardiac injury, the fishes’ brains began pumping out oxytocin like mad, producing up to 20 times more than they had prior to the injury, the team found. The hormone then traveled to the heart, plugged into its receptors and kicked off the process of transforming epicardial cells into new cardiomyocytes. 

These experiments provide early hints that oxytocin may play a key role in heart repair after injury, and by boosting its effects, scientists could develop new treatments to improve patients’ recovery after heart attacks and reduce the risk of future heart failure, the authors concluded. These treatments might include drugs that contain oxytocin or other molecules that can plug into the hormone’s receptors. 

“Next, we need to look at oxytocin in humans after cardiac injury,” senior author Aitor Aguirre, an assistant professor in the Michigan State University Department of Biomedical Engineering, said in the statement. “Overall, pre-clinical trials in animals and clinical trials in humans are necessary to move forward.” (Courtesy: https://www.livescience.com/oxytocin-heart-regeneration)

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