WASHINGTON (TIP): US secretary of defense Ashton Carter has called on Beijing to stop building artificial islands in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, as he hosted a top Chinese general.
The visit to the Pentagon of General Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China’s central military commission, was relatively low key amid simmering tensions over the maritime dispute and a massive hack of US federal employees.
China insists it has sovereignty over nearly all of the South China Sea, a major global shipping route believed to be home to oil and gas reserves, but rival claimants accuse it of expansionism.
“Carter reiterated US concerns on the South China Sea and called on China and all claimants to implement a lasting halt on land reclamation, cease further militarization and pursue a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes in accordance with international law,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
Carter had previously accused China of being out of step with international rules in its conduct in the South China Sea.
Unlike previous trips, including one last year, there was no joint press conference.
“The Chinese did request that there not be a lot of media attention around this trip,” Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said.
Also raising tensions is this month’s revelation by the US government that hackers accessed the personal data of at least four million current and former federal employees.
The vast cyberattack is suspected to have originated in China, though Beijing has said the charge was
“irresponsible” and stressed that Chinese laws prohibit cybercrimes.
Prior to visiting Washington, Fan went to California and Texas.
His trip is part of a years-long effort to build a regular dialogue between the American and Chinese armed forces to defuse potential tensions and avoid miscalculations.
Carter’s predecessor, Chuck Hagel, visited China in 2014 in a trip that was marked by friction, with each side trading sharply worded criticism.
WASHINGTON (TIP): A majority of Americans with mixed racial backgrounds have faced racial slurs or jokes, but most of the multi-racial adults feel their racial heritage has made them more open to other cultures, a new report exploring the nuances and contradictions of racial identity said on June 13.
“A majority (55 per cent) says they have been subjected to racial slurs or jokes, and about one-in-four (24 per cent) have felt annoyed because people have made assumptions about their racial background,” said Pew Research Centre report. At the same time, majorities of multi-racial adults are proud of their mixed racial background (60 per cent) and feel their racial heritage has made them more open to other cultures (59 per cent), said the report. The report estimates that 6.9 per cent of US adults, or nearly 17 million, could be considered multi-racial today when taking into account how they describe their own race as well as the racial backgrounds of their parents and grandparents. By comparison, 2.1 per cent of adult Americans said they were two or more races in the Census Bureau’s 2013 American Community Survey.
According to the report, not all adults (61 per cent) with a mixed racial background consider themselves “multi-racial.” When asked why they don’t identify as multi-racial, about half (47 per cent) say it is because they look like one race.
An identical share says they were raised as one race, while about four-in-ten say they closely identify with a single race. About a third (34 per cent) say they never knew the family member or ancestor who was of a different race.
Three-in-ten adults with a multi-racial background say that they have changed the way they describe their race over the years -with some saying they once thought of themselves as only one race and now think of themselves as more than one race, and others saying just the opposite. Multiracial Americans are younger than the country as a whole. Today, nearly half (46 per cent) of all multiracial Americans are younger than 18, according to census data.
By contrast, only 23 per cent of the overall US population is under the age of 18. Pew said mixed-race couples and births of children who have a multiracial background have increased.
Since 1980, the share of marriages between spouses of different races has increased almost fourfold — from 1.6 per cent to 6.3 per cent in 2013.
The share of multiracial children is growing at an even faster rate. In 1970, among babies living with two parents, only one per cent had parents who were different races from each other. By 2013, that share had risen to 10 per cent. According to Pew Research, Americans who are white and black or black and American-Indian are far more likely to have been unfairly stopped by police or to have received poor service at a restaurant or other business than Americans who are white and Asian or white and American Indian.
MIAMI (TIP): A programme that teaches university-age women how to avoid rape has shown some success in reducing the numbers of women in Canada who are sexually assaulted, according to a study.
Previous research has suggested that as many as one in four young women are raped or are victims of attempted rape while attending college.
The findings published in the New England Journal of Medicine are based on a group of nearly 900 women at three Canadian universities.
The first-year students were randomly assigned to either look at brochures on avoiding campus rape or to complete the training course.
During four separate three-hour sessions, the women learn “information, skills and practices to assess risk from acquaintances, to overcome emotional barriers in acknowledging danger and to engage in effective verbal and physical self-defense,” the study said.
Instructors also helped students “explore their own sexual values, desires, boundaries and rights,” according to the study.
The programme, known as the Enhanced Assess Acknowledge Act Sexual Assault Resistance Program, has been in development for over a decade by Charlene Senn of the University of Windsor.
One year after completing the training, 23 women in the EAAA programme reported having been raped, compared to 42 in the group that browsed brochures on rape prevention.
Researchers found 46 per cent fewer rapes and 63 per cent fewer attempted rapes in the group that followed the training programme.
“We found that the one-year risk of completed rape was significantly lower for the women in the EAAA resistance group than in the control group,” said Senn.
“What this means in practical terms is that enrolling 22 women in the EAAA resistance programme would prevent one additional rape from occurring.”
The programme is the first developed in North America to show some success against preventing rape beyond a few months, said Senn.
WASHINGTON (TIP): The US has spent more than$2.7 billion on the war against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria since bombings began last August, and the average daily cost is now more than $9 million, the Pentagon said June 11.
Releasing a detailed breakdown of the costs for the first time, the defense department showed that the Air Force has borne two-thirds of the total spending, or more than $1.8 billion. The daily combat, reconnaissance and other flights eat up more than $5 million a day.
The data also provided a rare look into the often secret special operations costs, which totaled more than $200 million since August.
The release of the spending totals came as Congress debated and rejected legislation Thursday that would have banned spending on the combat operations until lawmakers passed a new war powers resolution.
Military operations cost have grown since airstrikes began in Iraq in August, and then expanded to Syria the following month. The bulk of the strikes has been in Iraq, as the US and coalition strikes have tried to help Iraqi forces retake key and hold key cities.
Other total costs include $438 million for the Navy, including fighters and other ship support; $274 million for the Army, which has trainers and special forces troops on the ground; $16 million for military pay; $646 million for munitions; and $21 million for intelligence and surveillance operations.
WASHINGTON (TIP): White House reporters were evacuated from the media briefing room in the middle of press conference by the presidential spokesperson Josh Earnest, after law enforcement agencies received a bomb threat call.
The reporters who were escorted to the nearby Eisenhower Executive Building on Tuesday by Secret Service were allowed to re-enter the White House and the press briefing room about half an hour later, after it was found safe.
President Barack Obama remained inside his Oval Office and the First Lady Michelle and the family inside the White House while the Secret Service did their security sweep.
The Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary attributed the evacuation to a “telephonic bomb threat concerning the White House briefing room” that was called in to the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington.
Following the evacuation, the briefing room was swept for explosives as a precaution. The evacuation was confined to the briefing room, the Secret Service said.
“At the time of the Briefing Room evacuation, the President remained in the Oval Office and was not evacuated by the Secret Service.
The First Lady, Malia and Sasha were in the residence and were not evacuated,” Josh Earnest said.
NEW DELHI (TIP): After burning its fingers with the land bill, the NDA government has signalled it will try to build a wide political consensus instead of rushing through the much-awaited labour reforms that will affect a 48.7-crore domestic workforce.
An inter-ministerial panel headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley will negotiate with trade unions and other stakeholders while senior BJP managers are expected to reach out to Congress, SP and Trinamool among other parties, in a marked shift with the government earlier preferring the ordinance route, which the Opposition called “bulldozing tactics”.
Sources say the Centre has lined up sweeping amendments in labour laws to woo investments with changes aimed at drastically curbing rampant strikes, diminishing the influence of trade unions and making the labour market more flexible.
Plans are also afoot to create simpler norms for small scale industries to boost Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious “Make in India” manufacturing campaign.
But the ruling dispensation has decided to be cautious. “These reforms are in the proposal stage, and tripartite discussions are on. We are not in a hurry,” union labour minister Bandaru Dattatreya had said after announcing the panel last month. As the confrontation between the government and the Opposition escalated over the land ordinance, the passage of the real estate and Goods and Services Tax bills got blocked. The land ordinance also drew flak from NDA allies and RSS-affiliated labour and farmer bodies. The Modi government enjoys an overwhelming majority in the Lok Sabha but is likely to remain in minority in the upper House till 2019. The government’s excessive use of ordinances earned it a word of caution from the President.
“We have several plans and proposals for bringing structural changes in the labour sector but how and when to push them, would be a political call,” said a senior government official.
CHANDIGARH (TIP): The creator of Chandigarh’s iconic Rock Garden, Nek Chand, breathed his last at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, on June 12. He was 90. PGIMER sources said that Nek Chand had been ailing for some time. He was suffering from diabetes, hypertension and was also diagnosed with cancer. He had been admitted to the local Inscol Hospital in Sector 34 for the past few days. He had been undergoing dialysis but his condition kept on deteriorating. Earlier in the day, UT adviser Vijay Dev and home secretary Anurag Agarwal also visited him at the private hospital. They found that his condition was critical and suggested that he be shifted to the PGIMER at the earliest. He was brought to the PGIMER late on Thursday evening.
His son, Anuj Saini, who helped him in maintaining Rock Garden, and his UK-based daughter were by his side when he passed away at PGIMER.
[quote_center]KNOW THE MAN, THE LEGEND[/quote_center]
Born at Shakargarh (now in Pakistan) in Gurdaspur district, Nek Chand and his family settled in Punjab after Partition. At the time when Chandigarh was being designed as India’s first truly modern city by Swiss-born French architect Le Corbusier, he found work as a roads inspector for the Punjab public works department in 1951.It was in the early 1960s that he began to clear a little forest patch near Sukhna Lake to create a small garden. He set stones around the little clearing and then sculpted a few figures from discarded and recyclable materials he found at hand. His creation grew covering several acres and comprising hundreds of sculptures.
THE SECRET GARDENER
Nek Chand toiled away secretly in the dead of night for nearly two decades to create his wonderland in north India. Riding his bicycle after dark to a state-owned forest, Nek Chand spent night after night clearing patches of ground and transforming the landscape into a majestic garden. When his secret was finally discovered in 1975, authorities threatened demolition, claiming he had violated strict land laws. But an amazed public rallied behind him.
Eventually, the decision to give Chand a salary to help him work on his project fulltime, besides a workforce of 50 labourers, was taken. The garden was inaugurated as a public space in 1976, bringing him glory that would last a lifetime and beyond. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1984.
LEGACY LIVES ON
The man, who saw beauty and art in what others said was junk, continued to work on the garden even in his last days. Made from recycled materials, Chand built the mass with a cement and sand mix before adding a final coating of smoothly burnished pure cement combined with waste materials such as broken glass, bangles, crockery, mosaic and iron-foundry slag.
Now over 25 acres of several thousand sculptures set in large mosaic courtyards linked by walled paths and deep gorges, Nek Chand’s creation also combines huge buildings with a series of interlinking waterfalls. The Rock Garden is now acknowledged as one of the modern wonders of the world and receives over 5,000 visitors each day.
NEW DELHI (TIP): India is reopening its engagement with Tehran even as a game-changing nuclear deal between Iran and world powers looks potentially around the corner. After Nitin Gadkari’s visit to the Iranian capital in May to sign an MOU on the Chahbahar port, foreign secretary S Jaishankar will be in Tehran on Saturday for political consultations.
While India had reduced its oil imports from Iran during the US sanctions, it will be keen to restart the trade relationship as well as push the Iranian leadership to expedite the necessary clearances for building the Chahbahar port. India has even set up a special purpose vehicle (SPV) India Ports Global, to handle the port project.
India would want to revive its oil interests in Iran as well. India, Afghanistan and Iran have signed a transit agreement, and India is keen to build the connections through Iran into Afghanistan and central Asia. The port and its attendant railway lines, once built, would give India an alternative to Pakistan’s Karachi port.
Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj has already said she would be visiting Iran in the coming weeks for bilateral and NAM consultations. After engaging its immediate neighbourhood and east Asia, the Indian government is working on the Connect Central Asia project.
Prime Minister Modi will be visiting all the five “Stans” during his trip to Ufa, Russia for the BRICS summit.
NEW DELHI (TIP): Former Odisha CM Giridhar Gamang, whose controversial vote during the 1999 no-confidence motion had contributed to the fall of Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government after thirteen months in office, on June 12 decided to join BJP.
In fact, both BJP and Gamang put the past behind and embraced each other as the former Congress leader met BJP chief Amit Shah at the party headquarters. Gamang said he likes BJP’s “political strategy”. He had quit Congress on May 30.
Gamang was caught up in a controversy in Parliament on April 17, 1999, when the 13-month Vajpayee government fell as he voted despite having become the chief minister of Odisha by then. Since Gamang, who was then MP from Koraput, had not resigned from Lok Sabha even two months after becoming CM, it was left to his conscience to decide whether to vote. He voted, much against protests from BJP MPs.
However BJP tried to bury the issue saying Gamang voted against the BJP-led NDA government and then he was part of Congress. On his part, Gamang had argued that it was National Conference’s Saifuddin Soz whose cross-voting led to the NDA’s defeat on the floor of the House. He also recalled that Mayawati’s BSP, which had five members in Lok Sabha, made a last minute change in stand and instead of abstaining, voted against the government. The BJP leadership is to formally welcome the 72-year-old tribal leader in Bhubaneshwar. The party hopes Gamang’s entry will strengthen its base in Odisha.
“I have decided to join the BJP, but I will join formally soon. It will be decided by the state unit soon. I had met the Amit Shah today and made my plea which has been accepted by the party leadership,” Gamang said.
NEW DELHI (TIP): On June 12, as the Delhi transport department grappled with the fallout of the high court order, which quashed the ban on app-based taxi services by the Delhi government, Ola and its sister concern, TaxiForSure, were back in business. While Ola sent out messages to riders registered with it announcing its “comeback”, Uber also went to court.
NEW DELHI (TIP): Nestle may have secured a clean chit for Maggi from the Singapore food regulator, but the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), considered the world’s strictest regulator, had refused import of the noodles earlier this year.
The US FDA’s website shows that in January this year, six import refusal reports were issued to Nestle India by it. The regulator rejected Nestle India’s instant noodles and chowmein, manufactured at the company’s factories in Goa (Bicholim), Uttarakhand (Pantnagar) and Punjab (Moga).
In the report, the US FDA said,”The article appears to be misbranded in that the label or labeling fails to bear the required nutrition information.”
This is significant because even in India regulators have raised questions about Nestle’s labeling and packaging of Maggi, while ordering a countrywide withdrawal and recall of all nine variants of the popular snack. Regulatory tests in India have found Maggi containing added monosodium glutamate (MSG). However, the company does not declare so on the pack. Similarly, Maggi samples were allegedly found containing lead in excess of the prescribed limit.
Interestingly, after the latest recall of Maggi instant noodles in India, the US FDA has also sent samples of the product for testing.
Apart from Nestle’s products, imports of several other India-made packaged food products including bakery items, snacks, noodles and macaroni from leading players like Haldiram, Britannia and Indo Nissin Foods, were also blocked by the US FDA in the first five months of 2015.
In fact, data from the American regulator shows, India leads the list of rejected food products in various categories, with more than half of such items coming out of Indian facilities. Countries like Mexico and China are much bigger exporters to the US.
However, in terms of number of snacks and bakery products rejected, India, the eighth largest supplier of food to the US, is much ahead. For instance, the US FDA rejected a total of 217 bakery products between January and May, of which 116 were from India and 17 from China.
Most of the Indian snacks and bakery products rejected by the American regulator so far this year are from Haldiram. Some of the reasons cited include contamination, pesticide adulteration, decomposed substances, inadequate processing and insanitary conditions etc.
In some of the orders, the regulator said the products can be “rendered injurious to health”. Several phone calls made to Haldiram to seek their response remained unanswered.
Experts say like medicines, food safety regulation is also going to be strengthened in upcoming years. “The Indian food market is evolving and companies need to behave in a more responsible manner,” a former FSSAI official said.
NEW DELHI (TIP): The NDA government, which is reworking the debt restructuring plan to strengthen the loss-making electricity distribution companies (discoms), is unlikely to extend any financial assistance to states under the new scheme.
Instead of giving financial packages to power distribution companies, the Ministry of Power will suggest the models to be adopted to improve the efficiency of electricity discoms by reducing losses, plugging pilferage, cutting transmission and distribution losses, a senior official in the Ministry of Power said.
“Making the discoms self-reliant is the central government’s priority than making them depend on loans,” the official said, adding that soon, a new restructuring plan will be unveiled to enable the states to work towards providing 24×7 electricity by 2019.
As per the new proposals, the government may also ask some of the central public sector undertakings like NTPC or NHPC purchase stakes in state discoms and pump some money and introduce professionalism in the functioning of electricity boards, said the official.
With the combined debt of all distribution companies rising above Rs 2 lakh crore, the previous UPA government had introduced a restructuring plan in 2013. However, there were not many takers among states. After failure of the scheme, the NDA government decided to rework the plan to make it more attractive than giving financial assistance to states.
As per the previous government’s scheme, 50 per cent of the accumulated debt of the discoms till March 2012 could be converted into bonds. These bonds will be issued to the participating lenders, backed by state government guarantees. The remaining 50 per cent loan will be restructured by providing moratorium on principal and best possible terms for repayments.
Power Minister Piyush Goyal recently said the government aims to attract $50 billion investment in transmission and distribution sector in the next 20 years and is preparing short, medium and long term plan for strengthening the discoms.
With the 40 per cent of electricity going unpaid for in some states, the discoms have no money to purchase power from market to supply to consumers despite availability of sufficient power in the grid.
NEW DELHI (TIP): India’s total foreign tourist arrivals jumped last year but the number of foreign women travelling to the country slipped during the same period amid concerns about safety of women following the December 2012 gangrape.
Tourism ministry statistics show the main countries that logged a decline in female foreign tourists were Germany, Bangladesh and the Russian Federation while the number of women from Sri Lanka, the US, Canada, UK and Malaysia increased during this period.
The number of foreign tourists increased 10% in 2014 over the previous year while foreign female tourists slipped to 40.8% from 41.2% in the same period.
India’s tourism industry took a hit after the 2012 gangrape made international headlines, prompting the government to introduce a host of security measures such as a travel advisory with tips for foreign tourists, including suggestions on dressing in line with the country’s traditional culture. The country’s global image as a safe destination suffered following a series of sexual attacks on foreign women in recent years. “Some parts of India, particularly the smaller towns and villages, still have traditional dressing. Dress codes for some religious places can include covering your head, being barefoot,” says a 13-page booklet given to foreign tourists at the immigration counter.
According to sources, the tourism ministry is also working on a plan to hand a GPS-enabled SIMs to foreign travellers when they land in India.
“Safety of women foreign travellers is a matter of serious concern for us. We are taking several steps. We have started helpline numbers in two languages which we propose to make multilingual,” tourism minister Mahesh Sharma said.
“India’s culture, including that of dressing, is different from the West. We are not imposing anything on anyone. This is simply advice.”
Though spelt yoga in English, the Hindi-Sanskrit pronunciation is yog. Every schoolboy in India knows the meaning of yog as ‘to add’. But here we are talking about the meaning of yoga as “to join” or “to unite” from the root yuj.
Although yoga as philosophy and system was codified by Sage Patanjali around 200 BC, it is much older, its references are found in Vedic literature.
To understand the spiritual dimension of yoga, here we will confine ourselves to the definition of yoga by Patanjali himself and two widely known and quoted fragments of verses in Bhagavad Gita.
First, Patanjali. In the very second of his 192 sutras, he says,
(Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah)
It means, yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind or thought impulses. In other words, you are doing yoga in order to achieve a stillness and clarity of mind. But many meditators take it to mean consciously and forcefully trying to stop thoughts. That is difficult to achieve. What does work is creating the right conditions allowing the mind to settle down. In Indian spirituality mind is often compared to a monkey, difficult to control. But lead the monkey to a bunch of bananas, and it will settle down. So it is with the mind. Lead it with meditation towards the source of happiness within (the Kingdom of God is within you, said Jesus), and it gravitates towards that and thoughts subside, eventually leading to the yogic state of samadhi.
In a later sutra, Patanjali also lists five things that cause klesha or obstacles in achieving a state of yoga. These are: ignorance, I-ness, desire, aversion and attachment. And he suggests ways to be rid of them.
Now Gita.
In this verse, Lord Krishna is advising Arjuna to perform action while established in yoga, or dwelling in union with the Divine, and at the same time renouncing all attachments. He is advising Arjuna to remain in a state of equipoise in both success and failure. This is Karma Yoga philosophy that leads to equilibrium or equanimity of mind. When all our actions are performed while dwelling in Divine in this manner, we truly start living the ‘Work is Worship’ philosophy. One common misinterpretation of this verse is: never desire the fruits of action. It is wrong because results are inevitable. Action begets reaction. It is the worrying about the desired results that causes anxiety.
Yoga again is central to this statement of Gita.
(Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam)
It simply means, ‘yoga is skill in action’. Even the reverse may be true. Skill in action is yoga.
The full verse ending in Yogah Karmasu Kaushalam says: One who is equipped with equanimity in this life discards both merit and sin. Therefore remain established in yoga; yoga results in perfect action.
This is where Krishna starts addressing Arjuna’s inaction – almost a catatonic state. The warrior prince is bedeviled by doubts arising from concerns about fighting and slaying his uncles and cousins. Krishna argues that if one performs svadharma with equanimity, one doesn’t have to constantly ponder whether an action will beget merit or sin. We begin to detach ourselves from the results or fruits of our actions, we will also not get attached to merit and sin.
Interestingly, Indian philosophy for long was considered renunciatory and escapist, for which partly to blame was this simplistic understanding of Gita: Karam karo phal ki ichcha mat karo. Imagine, the sermon of Gita is given on a battleground, the acme of action!
You may think this is spiritual mumbo-jumbo, and ask, “What is in this for me in practical terms?” Well, one can show ‘yoga is skill in action’ translating as increased efficiency and improved productivity. Yes, since the 1950 there have been umpteen research studies on meditation’s psycho-physiology and the effects of regularly experiencing the meditative state (yoga) on everyday life.
What is well established by now is that meditation slows down the metabolism while mental alertness instead of reducing (as seen when one is drowsy) is actually enhanced. This unique state of consciousness called restful alertness is different from the three states of consciousness, which we normally experience, namely sleep, dreaming and wakefulness. And it washes away tension and stress. As a result, quality of sleep improves. There is relief in psychosomatic diseases like high blood pressure, ulcers, and migraine. Brain waves (as graphed by EEG or electroencephalogram) become more coherent and synchronous. More energy, ability to concentrate and a positive attitude all add up to improve efficiency and in turn productivity. The overall quality of life becomes better.
From the various forms of meditation, Transcendental Meditation or TM as taught by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi ruled the roost for a few decades. Lately, mindfulness is finding favor in the corporate world as well as hospitals and health centers in America. Mindfulness comes from Buddhism if not the Buddha himself and has been popularized in our time by France based Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh. Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you’re mindful, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to experience.
As you can see, there is no religious symbolism, no belief system involved here. It is as secular as you can get. So is yoga.
NEW YORK CITY (TIP): Ambassador Arun Kumar Singh who assumed his new assignment as Ambassador of India to the United States on April 30, 2015 visited New York June 4-5 on his first visit to the City after taking over in Washington.
Ambassador Singh, who had served at the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations Office, New York from 1993-1997 as Counselor and handled multilateral social and economic negotiations, held couple of meetings during his stay in the Big Apple.
On June 4, he interacted with Think Tanks, Strategists, University Representatives, Scholars, Indologists, cultural organizations, and prominent personalities engaged in government and public offices at Indian Consulate, New York on June 4. On the same day, Ambassador Frank Wisner hosted a luncheon meeting with select CEOs in honor of Ambassador Singh. He asserted that India and US would continue their efforts to enhance bilateral relationships in every sector including trade and investment.
He also had a meeting with Ethnic Media of New York, and organizations involved in International Day of Yoga on 5 June at the Consulate.
Later he and his wife Dr. Maina Chawla Singh attended a special community reception at the Delhi Art Gallery hosted by Consul General of India, New York, Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay and his wife Dr Sadhna Shanker. About 200 people graced the occasion. Ambassador Singh interacted freely and seemed to have time for everybody.
EDISON, NJ (TIP): The Society of Indo-American Engineers and Architects (SIAEA) held its biennial election last month. The new team headed by its president, Mr. Vikrant Sampat was sworn in at the Oath Ceremony held on May 9th, 2015 at Mirage Banquet in Edison, New Jersey. Mr. Sampat, a licensed professional engineer, is a principal at SUPERSTRUCTURES Engineers + Architects in Manhattan. In the recent elections, Mr. Shailesh Naik, a SIAEA Board Member and President of Charles A. Manganaro Consulting Engineers was voted as President-elect for the term starting in 2015.
The oath ceremony luncheon event was well attended by a distinguished guest list which included India’s Deputy Consul General, Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, New Jersey Senator Linda Greenstein, Mayor Peter Cantu of Plainsboro, and majority of SIAEA’s past presidents. They applauded SIAEA’s accomplishments and recognized the commitment of the professionals of Indian origin in Unites States. Encouraging words by the dignitaries expressed their appreciation of the entrepreneurial spirit and wholehearted assimilation within communities forming strong bonds.
Mr. Mihir Patel, Past President and trail-blazer, reviewed SIAEA’s achievements as he handed over the reins to the new leadership. During his term, SIAEA opened a new chapter in Philadelphia and set the ground work for Washington DC and Chicago. This serves as a blue print for future chapters, and collaborative networks across the nation.
Mr. Sampat was sworn in by Dr. Mohapatra, who in turn administered the Oath of Office for an enthusiastic and energetic Executive Committee. Building upon the accomplishments of SIAEA’s past presidents, and keeping every member in mind, Mr. Sampat shared his vision and purpose for the Society. Having been actively involved with the Society for many years, he is well aware of the potential and opportunities to unite engineers and architects of Indian origin for fostering collaboration, growth, and creating new opportunities.
The membership comprises of professionals of Indian origin, who are currently based in the United States and includes second or third generation, born here in the United States of America. While a large number of members work for government agencies, some are in private professional practice and yet some are in the construction industry. Mr. Sampat humbly acknowledged the talent present among the Society, which is committed to utilize their education and skills on a daily basis to better the quality of life for people around them.
Over the years SIAEA has reached many milestones including awarding over $200,000 in scholarships to engineering and architectural students; creating opportunities for new professional relationships; sponsoring technical seminars; organizing networking events; and strengthening the Society with a continually growing membership base. Mr. Sampat will take these initiatives further and introduce new ones. He called upon the membership to participate actively and use the collective knowledge and expertise to empower India and make a difference in the United States. He inspired all “to stretch our wings towards new horizons and move SIAEA forward”.
The body of dedicated professionals of Indian origin is remarkable, and has made tremendous contributions in United States. SIAEA was formed to provide a platform for professional development and collaboration. The bench of highly talented and committed professionals ready to serve the Society and their communities is deep, ensuring continuation of strong leadership.
The charming emcee for the ceremony was Mr. Heman Patel, who is also the President for the Philadelphia Chapter. He maintained an engaging and enjoyable rhythm for the afternoon. The Oath Ceremony was followed by lunch and a General Body Meeting. Financial statements and achievements were shared at the meeting. Information on SIAEAs professional seminars and networking events, is posted online at www.SIAEANY.org and members are kept updated via emails. Announcements were made for this year’s upcoming networking events which include a Dinner Cruise on August 2nd, a summer picnic on August 29th, and the Annual Gala on November 21st.
Keeping with the warm Indian traditions and hospitality, the networking events and professional seminars are open to friends and families. These are popular events, paying tribute to the larger community that makes professional endeavors possible and the world a better place.
Kangana Ranaut is in high spirits after the success of her latest outing. But the actress believes with this, she is now pushing herself towards more.
She says, “I have started expecting more from myself. To render strong roles consistently can be draining, and now, I feel the question ‘What next?’ looming large. To evolve into the next level of cinema needs the support of strong scripts and visionary filmmakers. So let’s see what kind of scripts come my way or I might get into direction. For now, I’m doing Hansal’s (Mehta) film called Simran and Vishal sir’s (Bhardwaj) film called Rangoon.”
Ask her about the rumours of demanding a price hike post her hit films, she quips, “The film has done big numbers worldwide. I did two actress’ work and got paid only for one actress’ salary… (laughs)”
Actress Jacqueline Fernandez says her Kick co-star Salman Khan has helped her a lot professionally. Jacqueline, 29, who is reportedly no more a part of the 2014 hit film’s sequel, said she would be fine if she does not get to share screen space again with the superstar.
When asked about the sequel, Jacqueline said, “I am not aware about it. I am okay with it if that is the case (not being part of Kick sequel). “Kick has been one of the best experiences I have had in my life. Salman has already done a lot for me. If I am not getting to work with Salman in Kick 2, then some other film.”
Meanwhile, Jacqueline is excited about her upcoming film Brothers, where she essays the role of a young mother. “It’s an honour to be part of a project like this where I get to work with Akshay
(Kumar), Jackie (Shroff) and Sidharth (Malhotra). It was a challenge as it’s not an ordinary situation as I am playing a young mother…,” she said.
Brothers is an upcoming action-drama film, directed by Karan Malhotra and produced by Karan Johar. The film is an official remake of the 2011 Hollywood film Warrior and is scheduled to release on August 14, 2015.
Socialite Paris Hilton is reportedly dating a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, whom she recently met in Cannes, France. The 34-year-old hotel heiress has been photographed kissing businessman Thomas Gross onboard a yacht off the coast of Spain, reported Contactmusic.
Hilton will be staying at her new man’s pad during her upcoming summer DJ residency in Ibiza.
Gross, 39, is said to be worth at least 125 million pound, double Hilton’s own estimated net worth. The socialite was most recently linked to “Man of Steel” hunk Henry Cavill, after they were spotted together at a Golden Globes pre-party in Los Angeles in January. She has a long list of ex-suitors, including shipping heir Stavros Niarchos, Doug Reinhardt, Cy Waits, and rocker Benji Madden.
Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon and Australian producer Bruna Papandrea’s Pacific Standard Banner is developing a film adaptation of Maureen Sherry Klinsky’s forthcoming novel Opening Belle.
The film is being adapted for Warner Bros, reports variety.com.
The novel, which is due to be published later this year, is loosely based on Klinsky’s real life experience working as a managing director at Bear Stearns, New York. It is a comic version of a woman juggling motherhood with a career at Wall Street in 2007, when she must deal with the impending financial crisis while raising three children.
Witherspoon and Papandrea formed Pacific Standard in 2012 in order to fill the vacuum for movies with female protagonists. They produced Wild, Gone Girl and Hot Pursuit, and are also developing an adaptation of the novels Big Little Lies, The Engagements and The Outliers.
Goa, Shimla, Lonavala – trying to plan a trip with your partner, but stuck with these names in your head? Go beyond the usual, and explore some beautiful locations across the country that can serve as great options for your romantic escape. From the riverside view of Majuli in Assam to the snow-capped mountains of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, let your wanderlust take you places.
[quote_center]Lachen, Sikkim[/quote_center]
Located 9,600 feet above sea level, at the confluence of Lachen and Lachung rivers, this picturesque town commands a panoramic view of the Himalayan range. The best time to visit the place is from November to June.
On your itinerary
Thangu, a small village, not very far from Lachen, makes for a spectacular view.
Mountain treks.
Yumthang Valley is popularly known as the Valley of Flowers.
Gurudongmar Lake – one of the highest lakes in the world.
[quote_center]Auli, Uttarakhand[/quote_center]
Located in the Chamoli district, Auli has a generous population of coniferous and oak forests, and also offers a panoramic view of the Himalayas. With its moderate temperature during the summer months, it serves as a great vacation spot in the hot season.
On your itinerary
Day hike to Gorson Meadows that provides scenic views.
A ride on one of the longest cable cars (Gondola) in Asia.
This hill station is situated in the north-west part of Arunachal Pradesh. It shares its border with the Sela range in the east, Tibet in the north and Bhutan in the south-west. Away from the maddening buzz of a big city, Tawang serves as a quiet vacation spot.
On your itinerary
Tawang Monastery is the largest monastery in India.
Jang Waterfalls are famous for its beauty.
Sela Pass remains covered with snow for most part of the year.
Tawang Handicrafts Centre promotes small-scale industries for local handicraft.
Dhankar Gompa is a village and also a Gompa (meditation room in urban Buddhist centres) in the district of Lahaul and Spiti in Himachal Pradesh. Gurgling rivers and crystal clear lakes dot the highlands of Lahaul, while an ancient civilisation has survived for nearly a thousand years, and has preserved its culture against the onslaught of modernity in Spiti.
On your itinerary
Dhankar Monastery.
Dhankar Lake, which is a 1.5 km trek up from the monastery.
Nearby villages of Kaza, Key, Kibber and Tabo.
[quote_center]Kovalam, Kerala[/quote_center]
This small town in Kerala consists of three separated parts of three beaches – Hawah, Samudra and Light House. The largest among these is the Light House beach, which is a must-visit. It is close to Thiruvananthapuram.
On your itinerary
Boating in the Karamana river provides spectacular views of the backwaters
Sunset at Edakkal.
Vizhinjam Rock Cut Cave temple has ancient sculptures on display.
Valiyathura Pier offers an amazing view of the coastline of Kovalam.
Often referred to as the ‘Mini Switzerland of India’, Khajjiar is a beautiful hill station in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. It has thick deodar forests covering the slopes, and a breathtaking snow-line that rests above these woods.
On your itinerary
Exciting hikes through the deodar thickets of the Dhauladhar Mountains.
12th century temple dedicated to Khajji Nag that houses life-size wooden images of the Pandav brothers.
Several equestrian sports, paragliding and horse riding.
[quote_center]Majuli, Assam[/quote_center]
This is a large river island, nestled amidst the Brahmaputra in the upper region of Assam. Majuli is considered as one of Assam’s most well-kept and unexplored secrets, which leaves visitors awestruck with its natural beauty. To explore the island, travellers can either book a motorised private boat or travel like the locals in a ferry. The cultural exhibitions, exotic Assamese cuisine and the friendly local population make Majuli a picture-perfect destination to spend time with your loved ones.
On your itinerary
Several Satras or monasteries like Daksinpath, Garamur and Auniati.
Mask-making workshops.
Raja Maidam, which has a vault of King Purandar Sinha. The monument was built as a tribute to the king.
[quote_center]Wayanad, Kerala[/quote_center]
This district-town was formed by extracting areas from the Kozhikode and Kannur districts. The rugged terrain of the Western Ghats is its main attraction. It is situated at the tip of the Deccan Plateau, and shares borders with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
On your itinerary
Neelimala, a great trekking destination, located in the southeastern part of the region.
Meenmutty Falls, the largest waterfall in the district.
KIEV (TIP): Ukraine’s premier warned Friday that Kiev would freeze its debt repayments if no immediate deal was found with private lenders because it had to fund its escalating campaign against pro-Russian fighters.
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on his return from a crunch visit to Washington that the International Monetary Fund had given his embattled government a few weeks’ reprieve to enact laws needed for the release of new loans.
But the Western-backed cabinet leader said the Fund had signalled its willingness to let Ukraine restructure debts at its own pace — and that interest payments to Western commercial lenders and Russia may stop as early as next week.
“Today, Ukraine spends as much on foreign and domestic debt servicing as it does on defence,” Yatsenyuk told a government meeting.
“The budget can no longer afford it — and not just the budget. The Ukrainian people can no longer live like this,” he said.
“We will not take money out of Ukrainians’ pockets to pay foreign debts.”
An upsurge in fighting that has claimed at least 40 lives since last week has rattled a shaky truce deal the foes and Russia had signed off on under strong EU pressure in February.
Foreign monitors have since accused both sides of pulling their heaviest weapons back up to the front in apparent preparation for a return of full-scale warfare in the 14-month eastern campaign.
Growing security concerns have been compounded by seemingly deadlocked talks with foreign creditors who soaked up Ukrainian Eurobonds in far more peaceful times.
Kiev is up against seasoned financial heavyweights such as Franklin Templeton and other titans who believe that Ukraine has the funds stashed away in its central bank to repay its debts in full.
Ukraine’s Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko has firmly refused to do so — a position that has left the private lender increasingly anxious and Russia visibly irate.
“We are deeply concerned about the stance (Jaresko) is taking, which is not in the interests of Ukraine,” Kiev’s four biggest commercial lenders warned in a joint statement yesterday.
And Russia said it may ask the International Court of Justice in The Hague to declare Ukraine in default if it fails to make a scheduled USD 75-million (66.5-million-euro) interest payment on June 20.
Jaresko and Yatsenyuk mainly want to see the IMF back the quick release of a USD 1.7-billion loan that forms part of a USD 40-billion package the Fund and Ukraine’s foreign allies have patched up for the coming four years.
BEIJING (TIP): Chinese authorities have detained nine people for spreading rumors on the Internet that several military officers were involved in protests and for damaging the military’s image, the military’s official newspaper said on June 12.
The nine “fabricated and spread the rumors” on the Internet, the People’s Liberation Army Daily said.
They used Chinese microblogs and mobile messaging apps to “spread military-related rumors, slander military cadres and falsely accuse troops of being involved in ‘mass incidents’,” the newspaper added.
“Mass incidents” are a euphemism for protests.
Some of them also “demonized the military’s image”, it said.
The newspaper did identify the nine but gave the family names of three of them as Huang, Yuan and Song.
The people confessed to spreading rumors and had been sentenced to “administrative detention”, it said, a term which is normally up to 15 days behind bars. They also had to undergo “education”. It provided no further details.
Last month, the defense ministry said authorities had detained 10 people for spreading rumors online damaging to the military’s image, including the presence of gangs and infighting.
The military has been one of the focuses of President Xi Jinping’s sweeping crackdown on deep-seated corruption, with several senior officers caught up.
The punishment for the rumor-spreading shows the Communist Party’s growing determination to control information about alleged official misbehavior, to avert triggering public dissatisfaction.
LILLE, FRANCE (TIP): Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was cleared of pimping charges on June 12 in France, putting an end to four years of legal drama that began with a sexual assault charge in a New York hotel room.
Strauss-Kahn’s trial on aggravated pimping charges in the northern city of Lille hinged on sex parties that took place in the midst of the global financial crisis.
Strauss-Kahn had told the court the parties were much-needed “recreational sessions” at a time of intense pressure to steer the world through economic peril, and he did not know the women who took part were prostitutes. In often sordid testimony, the women described sometimes-brutal nights that, they said, were not fun for them at all.
The verdict was the last step in four years of legal drama for Strauss-Kahn that began when a New York hotel maid accused him of sexual assault in 2011, killing his ambitions to be French president. That case was later settled out of court.
Strauss-Kahn, 66, was among more than a dozen defendants, including hotel managers, entrepreneurs, a lawyer and a police chief. They were accused of participating in or organizing collective sexual encounters in Paris, Washington and in the Brussels region in 2008-2011, when Strauss-Kahn was IMF chief — and married. Only one, a hotel manager, was convicted in the pimping case.
Each faced up to 10 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines if convicted. During the three-week trial in February, the man known in France as DSK never wavered in his insistence that he did not know that the young women at the parties were prostitutes. He said he thought they were simply “libertine.”
The sometimes tearful testimony of two prostitutes cast a harsh light onStrauss-Kahn’s sexual practices. But they testified that they had never told him directly about their professions.
Other defendants described how they had voluntarily erected a wall of silence around their powerful friend to protect him from embarrassment.
Even the prosecutor, unusually, asked for Strauss-Kahn’s acquittal, saying the trial did not back up the charge of aggravated pimping, which requires proof that he promoted or profited from prostitution. However, the prosecutor asked for conviction of the co-defendants who admitted having organized these evenings and paid the girls.
The chances of India becoming top emerging country of the Brics grouping are “extremely good” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tech giant Cisco’s Chairman and CEO John Chambers said on Wednesday. “We made a big bet on India”, which has the possibilities and “may be probability of being the very top emerging BRICS country. And being candid, under the leadership of Mr Modi, I think the probabilities of that happening are extremely good,” said the outgoing CEO.
Mr Chambers said this in a joint press conference with the incoming CEO Chuck Robbins. The two are expected to be in India on June 18 and 19. The Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping of leading emerging economies accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s land mass, 40 per cent of its population and a combined GDP of $24 trillion.
[quote_center]Mr Chambers said he and Mr Chuck are very bullish on India.[/quote_center]
The Indian Prime Minister has grasped the importance of digitisation, development of smart cities, broadband to every citizen, healthcare, education and job creation to change the lives of the people, he said. Recalling his statement during the time of the elections in India, Mr Chambers said, “My views have not changed at all. If I bet on one emerging market that had to be double down on India and we have doubled down.” Briefing about his forthcoming visit to India, he said: “We will spend time with key government leaders including your top leaders next week.
Signup to our Newsletter!
Don’t miss out on all the happenings around the world
Though spelt yoga in English, the Hindi-Sanskrit pronunciation is yog. Every schoolboy in India knows the meaning of yog as ‘to add’. But here we are talking about the meaning of yoga as “to join” or “to unite” from the root yuj.
[quote_center]Wayanad, Kerala[/quote_center]
