You’ve heard several people tell you to cut down your coffee intake because it is addictive. Now, listen to this–a new study has found that regular consumption of coffee may reduce the risk of liver cirrhosis by 44 per cent and may nearly halve the risk of dying from the disease.
In patients with cirrhosis, the liver becomes scarred often as a result of long-term and persistent injury from toxins like alcohol and viral infections like hepatitis C.
It may be fatal due to an increased risk of liver failure and cancer, researchers said.
They conducted a meta-analysis of nine long-term studies involving half a million men and women, and found that an extra two cups of coffee per day may reduce the risk of cirrhosis by 44 per cent, and it may nearly halve the risk of dying from cirrhosis.
“Coffee appeared to protect against cirrhosis,” said Oliver Kennedy from University of Southampton in UK.
“This could be an important finding for patients at risk of cirrhosis to help to improve their health outcomes,” said Kennedy. The findings were published in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.
A pooled analysis by researchers at Masonic Cancer Centre, University of Minnesota in US, which covered 13 studies, using data from the Childhood Leukaemia International Consortium (CLIC), has concluded that children born by pre-labour caesarean delivery may have a higher risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) — a cancer of the white blood cells.
The analysis looked at 33,571 subjects overall, including 23,351 control subjects and 8,655 cases of ALL. The analyses were controlled for a number of outside factors, including breastfeeding, parental education levels, and ethnicity. After looking most closely at deliveries where the reason for caesarean were available, no link was found between emergency caesareans and ALL or Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
However, the analysis showed a 23%? increase in risk of ALL in children born by pre-labour caesarean delivery. There was also no observed correlation between AML and pre-labour caesarean delivery. “Our goal was to determine if there was an association between caesarean deliveries and ALL, to identify potential new targets for research into cancer prevention if there is a correlation,” said Erin Marcotte, assistant professor at University of Minnesota.
“While the link between overall caesarean delivery and childhood leukaemia was not statistically significant, it was notable to find an association between pre-labour caesarean delivery and ALL,” Marcotte said. The reason for the increased risk of ALL with pre-labour caesarean delivery is not known, researchers said.
Several mechanisms may be at play, including the stress response in the foetus caused by labour and the colonisation of microbiota a newborn experiences during a vaginal delivery that is missed during a caesarean birth. “The most plausible explanation for the association between ALL and pre-labour caesarean delivery is in the cortisol, or stress-related, mechanism,” said Marcotte.
“Because ALL is not associated with all caesarean deliveries, it seems less likely the microbiota colonisation is a significant factor in this phenomenon,” Marcotte said. Researchers note the strength of association in these findings is comparable to other studies looking at caesarean delivery rates and other childhood outcomes, including Type I diabetes and asthma.
“Cortisol exposure is plausible since similar compounds are used to treat ALL,” said Logan Spector, professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. “We also know that some are born with cells that are on the path to becoming leukaemia. Thus, our working hypothesis is that cortisol exposure at birth may eliminate these pre-leukemic cells,” Spector said.
After decades of research marriage experts have finally uncovered exactly what makes a relationship break down.
With more than 40 years’ experience working with couples under his belt, John Gottman, founder of The Gottman Institute, picked up on an interesting trend.
He realised one trait linked all the failed relationships, and was the highest predictor for an impending divorce.
And the answer? Contempt.
But more interestingly, he figured out how to fix it too.
Every couple has their disagreements and arguments, but it is when the eye rolling begins, the superiority kicks in and the disgust settles that the lawyers are called.
Passive aggressiveness can also be a subtle hint contempt has already permeated the marriage.
Mike McNulty, from the institute, told Cosmopolitan: “For example, when discussing how to keep their home tidy, one partner may say to the other, ‘In my family, we cared more about our house.’
“The unspoken ending to that sentence is, ‘than your family did’, the implication is: ‘My family is superior to yours.’
“Besides the eye roll, another sign is the lifting of the upper lip to make a sneer.
“It’s an overall attitude of disgust at one’s partner and/or a sense of superiority.”
But there is no need to divide the fine china just yet, as Mr McNulty handily gave some top tips on how to pull a relationship back from the brink.
For starters, stop rolling your eyes at your other half, even if behind their back.
Giving expectations a reality check, putting yourself in their shoes and dialogue were simple steps we all know but need to be reminded of sometimes, he said. And with official statistics showing a whopping 42 per cent of marriages in England and Wales end in divorce, the advice is much needed.
MADRID: Spain’s Interior Ministry has announced the seizure of 20,000 military-style uniforms being sent to fighters from the Islamic State group and the Nusra Front.
The ministry says that police conducted a counterterrorism operation last month in the port cities of Valencia and Algeciras, where officers opened three shipping containers. Authorities found the uniforms and other military accessories.
A ministry statement released Thursday said that police arrested seven people on suspicion of providing logistical and financial support to IS and the Nusra Front, al-Qaida’s branch in Syria.
The police operation “neutralized a very active and efficient business network whose primary purpose was to supply, maintain and strengthen” IS, according to the statement. The uniforms were declared as “secondhand clothing” in a bid to avoid raising suspicion while passing through customs.
ENGLAND (TIP): David Cameron is to agree to give an extra 20 million (£15.4 million) to France for policing and dispersing migrants attempting to reach the UK from Calais, a minister has said.
In a radio interview before a Franco-British summit at Amiens in the Somme, the French Europe minister, Harlem Desir, said the extra funding came on top of previous British spending of 60 million (£47 million).
In an interview with Radio France Internationale he repeated previous warnings that a Brexit could make it easier for thousands of refugees to reach England by leading France to scrap a treaty currently allowing British immigration checks in Calais and Dunkirk.
“Inevitably, our ability to continue to work closely with the British on migration and security issues would be easier if they remain within the framework of the European Union,” he said. Mr Desir said that this was not a “threat” or “blackmail” but a recognition of the “practical realities”.
Earlier, in an interview with the Financial Times, the French economy minister, Emmanuel Macron, suggested that British withdrawal from the EU would bring an end to the 2003 treaty which de facto moves the UK border to the French side of the Channel. This would, in theory, allow illegal migrants to reach Kent before they are stopped.
“The day this relationship unravels, migrants will no longer be in Calais,” Mr Macron said.
Mr Desir, the Europe minister, did not go quite so far. He said that the 2003 Le Touquet treaty was “bi-lateral” and therefore nor directly dependent on Britain’s EU membership. France did not want Britain to leave but would obviously find a new way of cooperating with its near neighbour if the Brexit camp won the June referendum.
“All the same,” he added. “The situation would change. Our present security and migration relationship with Britain is based on our joint membership of European institutions, such as Europol.”
“Inevitably, our ability to continue to work closely with the British on migration and security issues would be easier if they remain within the framework of the European Union.”
There is growing pressure from politicians in France for the treaty to be renegotiated. In practical terms, however, French officials recognise that it would not be easy for France to repudiate the Le Touquet arrangements.
If migrants thought that it was easy to cross the Channel, they would flood to Calais and other Channel ports in even greater numbers. Even if France stopped allowing British officials to check documents on French soil, ferry companies and Eurotunnel would still be obliged to do so. Britain fines travel companies and individual lorry or car drivers Pounds 3,000 for every unauthorised passenger.
SEOUL (TIP): South Korea and the United States were set to open talks on Friday on the possible deployment, vehemently opposed by China, of an advanced US missile defence system to counter the growing threat from North Korea.
South Korea’s defence ministry said initial discussions would focus on potential locations, as well as cost-sharing and a timeline for installation of the THAAD system.
The system fires anti-ballistic missiles into the sky to smash into enemy missiles either inside or outside the Earth’s atmosphere during their final flight phase.
The interceptor missiles carry no warheads, instead relying on kinetic energy to destroy their targets.
Seoul and Washington announced their intention to begin formal talks on its deployment following Pyongyang’s long-range rocket launch on February 7, which was widely regarded as a covert ballistic missile test.
The first official meeting has been on hold amid fierce opposition from China and Russia, with Beijing warning the deployment had the potential to “destroy” relations with Seoul.
China sees THAAD as a threat to the effectiveness of its own nuclear deterrent, arguing that it could be used to monitor Chinese missile launches as far inland as Xian in the northwest.
The defence ministry in Seoul stressed on Friday that any deployment would be solely aimed at countering North Korea’s “increasing nuclear and missile threats”.
“North Korea has continued its nuclear tests and long-range missile provocations and defied South Korea and the international community’s deterrence efforts,” the ministry said.
China is South Korea’s most important trade partner and, in deference to Beijing’s sensitivities on the issue, South Korea had previously declined to formally discuss bringing in THAAD.
But North Korea’s continued testing, and Beijing’s previous resistance to imposing harsh sanctions on Pyongyang, triggered a change in Seoul’s stance.
There is already a THAAD battery stationed in Guam, and Japan, the US’s other key ally in the region, is also considering taking on the system. (AP)
MANILA (TIP): China has stationed several ships near a disputed atoll in the South China Sea, preventing Filipino fishermen from accessing traditional fishing grounds and raising tensions in the volatile region, Philippine officials said on Wednesday.
China had deployed up to seven ships to Quirino Atoll, also known as Jackson Atoll, said Eugenio Bito-onon Jr, the mayor of nearby Pagasa Island in the Spratly Islands.
The Spratlys are the most contested archipelago in the South China Sea, a resource-rich region and critical shipping lane linking North Asia to Europe, South Asia and the Middle East.
“This is very alarming, Quirino is on our path when we travel from Palawan to Pagasa. It is halfway and we normally stop there to rest,” Bito-onon Jr told Reuters.
“I feel something different. The Chinese are trying to choke us by putting an imaginary checkpoint there. It is a clear violation of our right to travel, impeding freedom of navigation,” he said.
Fishermen told the mayor one Filipino boat had run aground in the area and was still there but was not being harassed by the Chinese vessels.
Chinese authorities did not immediately respond to faxed requests for comment.
The Philippine military said it was trying to verify the presence of Chinese ships near Jackson Atoll, where a Chinese warship allegedly fired warning shots at Filipino fishermen in 2011.
“We know there are Chinese ships moving around the Spratly area,” spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla told Reuters. “There are also ships around Second Thomas Shoal so we want to make sure if the presence is permanent.”
Second Thomas Shoal is where the Philippine navy has been occupying and reinforcing a rusting ship that it ran aground in 1999 to bolster its claims to the disputed reef.
TENSIONS ON THE RISE
A military source from Palawan said a surveillance plane had seen four to five ships in the vicinity of Jackson Atoll last week. The source could not say if the ships were passing through or permanently stationed there because the area is close to Mischief Reef, where China is busy building an artificial island. “There are no indications China will build structures or develop it into an island,” said the source, who was not authorised to speak to the media about the South China Sea.
The Philippines Star newspaper, which earlier reported the story, quoted an unidentified fisherman as saying Chinese boats chased them away when they tried to enter the area last week.
“These gray and white Chinese ships, around four of them inside the lagoon, prevented us from entering our traditional fishing ground,” he said.
Along with China and the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam also have claims on the waters, through which about $5 trillion in trade is shipped every year.
Tensions in the region have been building recently, with the United States and others protesting against Beijing’s land reclamations, along with the recent deployment of surface-to-air missiles and fighter jets in the Paracel Islands.
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter warned China on Tuesday against what he called “aggressive” actions in the region, saying there would be “specific consequences” to militarisation of the South China Sea.
Beijing, for its part, has been angered by “freedom of navigation” air and sea patrols the United States has conducted near the islands it claims in the South China Sea and says it needs military facilities for its self defence.
LONDON (TIP): UK is turning to India in an attempt to fill thousands of vacancies for doctors and nurses in its state-funded National Health Service, it emerged today, but “unwise regulations” and changing visa regime have been making the British medical system less attractive for Indian doctors.
Statistics obtained by the BBC as part of a freedom of information (FOI) request indicate severe NHS staff shortages with a majority of NHS trusts across Britain forced to turn overseas to countries like India and the Philippines.
However, visa changes over the years and some proposed changes expected to kick-in soon have been making the British medical system less attractive for Indian doctors.
“Indian doctors should be treated equally as local doctors and not used simply as a pair of hands to service the NHS,” said Ramesh Mehta, president of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), a representative body of nearly 50,000 Indian-origin doctors in the country.
The group had recently taken up the issue of the UK’s plans to impose a new Resident Labour Market Test (RLMT) to give UK and European medics priority in the UK job market.
“It will be very unfortunate as the NHS is already suffering from huge shortage of doctors and unwise regulations will only create further problems,” Mehta noted.
According to the latest figures obtained by the BBC for its ‘Inside Out’ show to be telecast this evening, between 2013 and 2015 nursing vacancies had increased by 50 per cent and open positions for doctors had risen by 60 per cent.
In contrast, the number of new Indian doctors registering with the General Medical Council (GMC) in the UK dropped from 3,640 in 2004 to just 534 last year.
The Royal College of Nursing and the British Medical Association blamed poor workforce planning for the problems.
A Department of Health statement said: “Staffing is a priority – that’s why there are already over 29,600 extra clinical staff, including more than 10,600 additional doctors and more than 10,600 additional nurses on our wards since May 2010. There are more than 50,000 nurses currently in training.
“However, we know that much more needs to be done to make sure we continue to have the right number of staff in training and on our wards so patients receive high-quality care 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“That’s why we are changing student nursing, midwifery and allied health professionals funding to create up to 10,000 more training places by the end of this Parliament.”
The NHS has historically turned to the Indian sub-continent to meet staff shortages as well to increase the headcount of doctors and nurses and claimed that “foreign health workers make a valuable contribution to the NHS”.
But a changing visa regime and a perception of an increasingly unwelcome medical system over the years has seen a considerable drop in the number of Indian doctors working in the UK, from around 10,265 in 2009 to 6,880 in 2015. (PTI)
ENGLAND (TIP): People who use social media accounts under other names to harass and attack others should be charged, according to the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service.
The new rules could allow for the prosecution of people who create a profile “under the name of the victim with fake information uploaded which, if believed, could damage their reputation and humiliate them,” the CPS said.
Authorities said that the new rules were a response to the changing nature of online crime. “It is vital that prosecutors consider the bigger picture when looking at evidence and examine both the online and offline behaviour pattern of the defendant,” director of public prosecutions Alison Saunders said.
Social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook have facilities in place to report impersonation accounts. Facebook’s help centre says “impostor accounts” are not allowed.
After Sidharth Malhotra-Alia Bhatt’s piping hot Vogue magazine’s cover, it’s Parineeti Chopra who has soared up the temperature with her latest sizzling shoot for FHM India’s March issue.
On the cover, the 27-year-old actress looked piping hot in a black and white picture, showing off her toned body in black mini with tousled hair and kohl-lined eyes. The other pic, shared on her Twitter handle, showed the ‘Ishaqzaade’ actress dressed in a white off shoulder dress with minimal makeup, and looked stunning in the bedroom look.
The ‘Kill Dil’ actress, who has recently returned home from her fun-filled Australia trip, will be next seen in ‘Meri Pyaari Bindu’ that also stars Ayushmann Khurrana.
I’M STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS
She makes no bones about admitting that she is a more confident person following her weight loss, but actress Parineeti Chopra, who believes being a celebrity puts her in a privileged position, says she still has a long way to go to be as fit as she wants to be.
Parineeti was on the chubbier side when she entered Bollywood with ‘Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl’ in 2011. But her transformation towards the end of last year left her critics tight-lipped. Does she feel more confident? “Yes, for sure! I do feel more comfortable in different clothes. I used to be conscious about how I am looking because I wasn’t confident about my body… But I do feel more confident as compared to earlier,” Parineeti told IANS in an interview over phone from Mumbai. But the 27-year-old actress was quick to add that she is “still a work in progress” as it “will still take a couple of months to completely get into the shape” that she wants. She has realised that being fitter helps in showbiz. The
‘Ishaqzaade’ and ‘Daawat-e-Ishq’ star said: “I think being your slimmest and fittest — whatever your body type may allow — is important because it helps you to do a variety of things on screen… I think if you are not your fittest self, then it limits you in the characters you play.”
STORY: The film is inspired by the real life ordeal of 64-year-old Professor Siras (played by Manoj Bajpayee), who was suspended by the Aligarh University for being homosexual. He was ostracised by the society at large and subjected to physical and psychological torture for his sexual preference. Rookie journalist Dipu Sebastian (Rajkummar Rao) is the man who sees him for what he really is. Aligarh is their journey.
REVIEW: Some films cease to be a story or a mere depiction of an incident or an issue. You live them. They mirror the society’s mindset and in doing so, rake out your own prejudices. Aligarh is one such biographical drama that tugs at your heartstrings.
While it is melancholic, the film doesn’t resort to melodrama to evoke empathy. Aligarh’s heart lies in the beauty of its silences and the unspoken words and unrushed emotions shared between its lead characters. While decriminalising homosexuality is an underlying message, the film essentially revolves around companionship and loneliness, reminiscent of Aparna Sen’s masterpiece 36 Chowringhee Lane.
Hansal Mehta captures the inner turmoil and unrest of Siras in the most understated manner. Most importantly, he gives Manoj Bajpayee the role of a lifetime and the latter infuses soul to his character. Bajpayee’s tearful eyes display an array of emotions —sorrow, vulnerability, angst and fear. Scenes where he is seen reciting poetry in fluent Marathi and being immersed in Lata Mangeshkar’s songs all by himself, is work of pure genius. These will go down in history as one of the most soul-stirring cinematic moments.
While Bajpayee drives the film, Rao delivers an equally compelling performance. You look at Siras through his eyes as he shapes your perception of the man. Satya Rai Nagpaul’s cinematography and Karan Kulkarni’s background score highlight the isolation that haunts Siras. Apurva Asrani’s heartfelt writing too, deserves a mention.
“The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages”, this remarkable quote by Virginia Woolf pretty much sums up the film. Aligarh stays with you much after you see it, especially for Bajpayee and his nuanced portrayal of a man brutally put to shame by an intrusive and insensitive society. It’s subtlety, redefined.
Actress Kate Hudson says she prefers being naked as she grew up in a family which was comfortable with being nude.
The 36-year-old, whose book ‘Pretty Happy’ is about ways to love yourself, inherited her body confidence from her mother Goldie Hawn because the Oscar-winning star always wore “tiny numbers” around their home, reports eonline.com.
“My family’s always been a comfortably naked family,” Hudson told Conan O’Brien on his talk show.
“I’d much prefer being naked than clothed, I just find clothes restricting. When I get home I just want to be naked. When you’re a dancer, you’re very comfortable with your body…and my mom was a dancer,” she said.
Further sharing secrets about her mother, Hudson said: “Mom would come flying down the stairs. We’d have all of our friends there and she’d be in like little tiny numbers. I’d be like cover yourself but as you get older you’re like let’s just take it all off.
“I’m gonna actually just take a good look at what’s in front of me in the mirror and get comfortable with it because it’s mine and accept it, that’s the family that I come from.”
Actress Sofia Vergara says she is unlikely to have children ‘naturally’, adding that if she and her husband and actor Joe Manganiello decide to expand their family, they will have to opt for a fertility treatment.
The 43-year-old actress, who already has a son with her ex-husband Joe Gonzalez, opened up about her personal life while talking to Harper’s Bazaar Arabia magazine, reports femalefirst.co.uk.
“I cannot just expect anything natural anymore. We’ll see what happens. It’s not something that doesn’t let us sleep. But it’s not something I am completely opposed to,” Vergara said.
The “Modern Family” star is grateful that her son Manolo was always such a good child as he made life as a working single parent easier for her.
She said: “I was a single mom for a long time and he always supported and helped me, made it easy to be able to work. I never had to worry about him. When you have a problem all the time, you are unable to be creative and think. As a single mother, I was able to do everything I wanted to do.” Vergara previously admitted that having children with Manganiello, whom she got married to last year, wasn’t a priority in their relationship.
With veteran actor Kabir Bedi congratulating Preity Zinta on her marriage, social media was abuzz with reports that the Bollywood actress has already said “I do” to her American beau Gene Goodenough in a hush-hush ceremony in Los Angeles.
The virtual world had a flood of speculations that the Kal Ho Naa Ho star had exchanged wedding vows with Goodenough on Monday night (Tuesday morning in India). There is also news that Preity’s close friends—fashion designer and stylist Surily Goel and Sussanne Khan—were part of the secret ceremony.
Sussanne, the estranged wife of Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan, also shared a photograph with Surily on Instagram, and captioned it as: “Calif Sunday with my @surilydpgoel Sunshine and a vintage car. #cityofangels #LA #dreamcatcher.”
However, there was no direct mention of Preity’s wedding.
Sending the twitterati into a tizzy, Kabir Bedi tweeted: “Huge congrats my friend
@realpreityzinta on your marriage to Gene in Los Angeles, City of Angels. Blessings!”
A user posted: “Finally #PreityZinta married a Goodenough Gene!”, while another shared:
“Actress Preity Zinta gets married to Gene Goodenough – so will she now have the epic name, Preity Goodenough?”.
Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Richard Buery and Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Nisha Agarwal at the Roundtable with ethnic media and community
NEW YORK CITY (TIP): Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives Richard Buery and Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Nisha Agarwal hosted a roundtable with ethnic and community media to increase awareness of ActionNYC’s services for immigrant New Yorkers, and its role as a bridge to free and safe immigration help.
ActionNYC is the nation’s largest investment by a municipality towards immigration legal services and was launched yesterday. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the $7.9 million investment in December 2014. ActionNYC features a trusted network of community-based partners that provide outreach, community navigation, and legal services. ActionNYC provides a free comprehensive legal screening to all of its clients and provides application assistance for a wide-range of cases, including green card renewals as well as citizenship and DACA applications, and it will help prepare New Yorkers for expanded DACA (Deferred Action or Childhood Arrivals) and DAPA (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans), if those programs move forward.
Deputy Mayor Richard Buery announced that ActionNYC services will now also be part of New York City’s Community Schools in immigrant-rich neighborhoods across the city. The ActionNYC team will work with trusted parent coordinators, guidance and college counselors, principals, and community school directors to connect students and their parents and families to ActionNYC services. Commissioner Nisha Agarwal announced that ActionNYC’s website is now live and that all New Yorkers can visit nyc.gov/actionnyc to learn more about the program. Commissioner Agarwal also previewed the future ActionNYC advertising campaign, including its logo, a bridge that represents the program’s commitment to connecting immigrant New Yorkers to City services and government.
C. Mario Russell, Esq. (Director of Immigrant and Refugee Services, Catholic Charities Community Services); Linda Sarsour (executive director of the Arab American Association of New York, AAANY); and Maria Lizardo (executive director of the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation, NMIC) then discussed how ActionNYC was building the capacity of their organizations to serve all immigrants in their local communities. Mario Russell of Catholic Charities spoke to the innovative nature of the ActionNYC model and how the model provided services in the communities that have the greatest needs. Linda Sarsour of AAANY commented on the unprecedented nature of the initiative, including its ability to invest in immigrant community spaces and small and medium-size community based organizations that are the most trusted resources in immigrant communities. Maria Lizardo of NMIC discussed the role that word of mouth will play as immigrants continue to tell their families and friends about the quality of the free, legal immigration support they received, including connections to social services like SNAP.
Reporters from a variety of publications asked a range of questions on ActionNYC’s model, outreach strategy, and services, including topics related to the rights of immigrants who reside in New York City. A topline summary of the topics covered during the Q&A session is incorporated into the FAQ below.
What us ActionNYC and how it works?
ActionNYC is free, safe, and secure legal immigration help for all New Yorkers, with needs ranging from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to green card renewals to citizenship. It is the nation’s largest investment by a municipality to prepare for executive action and build legal capacity. The$7.9 million initiative will provide free, safe immigration help across the five boroughs, where immigrant New Yorkers live and in the languages they speak.
How does ActionNYC operate?
The ActionNYC model is based on three pillars: Outreach and marketing; Community navigation; and Legal services.
Outreach: Composed of community-based organizers, along with MOIA’s outreach team. Outreach will engage traditionally underserved immigrant communities to provide information about ActionNYC services and schedule appointments.
Navigators: Based in community-based organizations. These individuals will screen ActionNYC clients for eligibility for immigration relief; when applicable, provide application assistance; and connect individuals to relevant social services such as IDNYC, DACA education/ workforce credentials, and Medicaid.
Legal: Composed of immigration attorneys who will review the legal work conducted by the navigators; provide legal advice to clients; represent straightforward cases; and decide next steps with all cases.
All three aspects of the program are connected through proprietary technology tools.
How many New Yorkers could benefit from the program?
All immigrants can benefit from ActionNYC’s services, including approximately 898,233 immigrants who are documented noncitizens as well as 540,700 undocumented New Yorkers.
How many New Yorkers will be served through ActionNYC in its first year?
Our outreach efforts will result in in-person interactions with an estimated 70,000 New Yorkers in our first year. Initial estimates are that approximately 23,000 appointments will be made in ActionNYC’s first year.
How do I make an ActionNYC appointment?
To make an appointment, call 1-800-354-0365 between 9AM-6PM, Monday – Friday or call 311 and say “ActionNYC.” We can make appointments in the language that you speak, and you can be served in the language that you speak.
How will you handle high demand?
We are carefully monitoring needs, and will evaluate on an ongoing basis if and when additional legal clinics and expanded capacity at navigation sites are needed.
Who are ActionNYC’s community partners?
Arab American Association of New York Asian Americans for Equality
Atlas: DIY
BronxWorks
CAMBA
Catholic Charities Community Services Center for Family Life
Center for Popular Democracy
DRUM – Desis Rising Up & Moving
Legal Aid Society
Little Sisters of the Assumption Family
Health Services, Inc.
Lutheran Social Services of New York Make the Road New York
New York Immigration Coalition Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation
The Research Foundation of the City University of New York
How did you select the participating organizations?
We conducted a highly competitive selection process that also follows City procurement rules.
Why incorporate ActionNYC in Community Schools?
ActionNYC in Community Schools will integrate ActionNYC’s new service delivery model with DOE’s innovative Community Schools program. Foreign-born students and students of foreign-born parents represent about 46% of the Community Schools student population, and immigration legal services are among the most important tools available to empower and engage immigrant families. Through ActionNYC, we will reach immigrant families who may not access City and nonprofit services by any means other than those provided through the schools.
Moreover, providing free immigration legal services in Community Schools fulfills one of the Mayor’s platform pledges and will enhance trust and communication between schools and immigrant students and families.
How many schools do you hope to reach?
During a full calendar year, we hope to reach 20-25 Community Schools.
Nature of Services:
How will a client served by ActionNYC know their information is safe?
All services are confidential. All ActionNYC clients’ information will be completely confidential and held with the organization helping with an individual’s case. Sensitive information will not be shared with others.
What if you can’t afford legal help?
ActionNYC services are free. The de Blasio administration believes that all immigrants should have access to legal justice. That is why there is no cost for you to receive immigration legal help with ActionNYC.
Can you serve immigrants who don’t speak English?
Yes. ActionNYC serves immigrants in the language they are more comfortable speaking. ActionNYC’s outreach, navigation, and legal service providers speak more than ten languages including: American Sign Language, Arabic, Bangla, Cantonese, English, French, Haitian-Creole, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Nepali, Russian, Spanish, and Urdu. Moreover, all ActionNYC sites have access to instantaneous telephonic interpretation.
What happens to immigrants who are not eligible for a change in their immigration status?
ActionNYC provides a full, comprehensive immigration legal screening for everyone served by the program. If a client served by ActionNYC is not eligible for a change in their immigration status, they can still get good immigration legal advice. And it will be free and safe.
Supreme Court Case: What is happening with expanded DACA and DAPA?
The Supreme Court is reviewing a case that determines whether the President’s 2014 executive actions on immigration may move forward. The executive actions provide important, temporary relief to an estimated 4 million undocumented immigrants. Through an expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), more undocumented immigrants would qualify for work authorization and temporary protection from deportation. Similarly, the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program would grant this protection to the parents of U.S. citizen children and permanent residents.
Even though the federal government is not accepting expanded DACA and DAPA applications yet, ActionNYC can help New Yorkers identify their eligibility for these programs and start preparing their documents now. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of these executive actions as early as June 2016, New Yorkers need to be prepared. There may be a small window of opportunity to apply for these programs if they move forward.
What happens if expanded DACA and DAPA does not move forward?
ActionNYC will continue to move forward as its goal is to help all New Yorkers navigate the legal landscape as it stands. This goes beyond the executive action programs. ActionNYC will allow us to respond proactively, as notaries and other fraudulent providers may position themselves as alternatives in an uncertain environment.
At the same time, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs will continue to organize and advocate at the local and nationwide level on immigration reform.
Immigrants’ Rights
Immigration fraud, such as the existence of notaries, does happen in New York communities. How is the de Blasio administration addressing this problem?
While New York City has always invested in ways to deter immigration fraud, ActionNYC will create a more coordinated system that gives immigrant New Yorkers a clear, community based alternative to fraudulent providers. The Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs is also part of a task force formed by the Mayor and NYS Attorney General to combat fraudulent activity.
I have been the victim of immigration fraud. Can I report it?
Call the New York State New Americans Hotline at 1 (800) 566-7636. The operators will take a report of your complaint and share it with prosecuting offices in NYC. 311 can also connect New York City residents to the New York State New Americans Hotline.
What are the rights of immigrants and immigrant families in New York City?
Privacy – City agencies are forbidden by Executive Order 41 to ask about immigration status unless it is necessary to determine eligibility for a benefit or service.
Language Access – City agencies that provide direct social services are required by law to arrange for interpretation and translations in individuals’ primary languages.
City Services – All New Yorkers have the right to access most City services, regardless of immigration status, including education, health care services, emergency food and shelter, legal services, and municipal ID.
Where can newly-arrived immigrants and refugees get help?
The following Resource and Referral Guide provides information on services available to recently arrived immigrant children and their families and caretakers, including refugees. These services include education, child and family welfare, health, legal, and other services.
English version: http://www.nyc.gov/html/imm/html/recently-arrived/recentlyarrived.shtml
How many Syrian refugees are arriving in the United States and the NYC area?
Since October 1, 2014, 1,682 Syrian refugees have been admitted to the United States. Of that number, 78 have been resettled in the New York metropolitan area.
When will additional Syrian refugees arrive?
The City does not screen refugees nor do we participate in the process. However, the overall process can take up to 24 months to complete prior to settlement.
How many Syrian refugees will NYC receive?
The Office of Refugee Resettlement, a federal entity, determines the location where refugees are placed and at what number. New York City does not typically receive many refugee resettlement placements, in large part due to the cost of living in the city. In federal fiscal year 2014, New York City and Nassau and Suffolk Counties combined received just 215 refugees, compared to 3,870 refugees placed in the rest of New York State.
What is Mayor de Blasio and the City’s position on the arrival of refugees?
The de Blasio Administration welcomes refugees seeking safety and stability.
Mayor de Blasio and 17 other mayors from the Cities for Action coalition wrote a letter to President Obama last month urging him to accept additional refugees and expressing our willingness to accept thousands more.
What is the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs doing to prepare for refugees?
NYC agencies and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs provide a range of services to immigrants of all statuses, including refugees. Those include public education, universal pre-kindergarten, health care, child care, and much more. The City is prepared to provide necessary support to all refugees who are resettled in our city. In addition, we are prepared to help refugees access the federal and state supports for which they are eligible.
WASHINGTON (TIP): : Nearly half of children in the US live dangerously close to the poverty line and more kids today are likely to live in families barely able to afford their most basic needs, a new report has claimed. The report by researchers from the National Centre for Children in Poverty (NCCP) at Columbia University illustrates the severity of economic instability and poverty conditions faced by more than 31 million children throughout the US.
“These data challenge the prevailing beliefs that many still hold about what poverty looks like and which children in this country are most likely to be at risk,” said Renee WilsonSimmons from NCCP.
“The fact is, despite the significant gains we have made in expanding nutrition and health insurance programmes to reach the children most in need, millions of children are living in families still struggling to make ends meet in our lowwage economy,” she said.
According to researchers, the number of poor children in the US grew by 18%from 2008 to 2014, and the number of children living in low-income households grew by 10%.
NCCP defines a low-income household as one where incomes fall below 200% of the Federal Poverty Threshold ($48,016 for a family of four with two children in 2014).
A family is considered poor if its earnings are below 100% of the poverty threshold ($24,008 for a family of four with two children in 2014). More than four in 10 US children are living close to the poverty line. While 44% of children live in low-income households, only 33%of adults between 18 and 64 years of age live in these households. (PTI)
WASHINGTON (TIP): The widely-expected promotion of Indian American judge Sri Srinivasan to the US supreme court has been complicated by the politics of the day. The Obama administration is proposing another judge for the job in an effort to overcome Republican opposition to filling the vacancy in the president’s final months in office.
The White House is said to be vetting Jane Kelly, a federal appellate judge in Iowa, for the supreme court bench, in order to checkmate Senator Charles Grassley, who as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in a Republican-controlled Senate has the power —which he has he will exercise —to block any nomination by the president. Grassley and many Senate Republicans argue that Obama should not make such a pivotal appointment in the final months of his presidency, mainly on account of the profound ideological shift it could engender.
The US supreme court is currently split 4-4 on ideological lines (with four liberal judges and four conservative judges), and the vacancy caused by the death last month of Justice Antonin Scalia, a conservative, gives the Democratic Party an opening to swing the court’s ideological orientation its way. But the Republicans control the Senate and the House, and top guns of the party, including Grassley, have vowed to prevent this.
Senator Grassley is up for re-election to the Senate in polls to 34 senate seats (onethird of the chamber) that will be held concurrently with the presidential elections in November this year. Obama’s strategists believe that because he is vulnerable, he will not risk blocking the nomination of a fellow Iowan judge who he has praised and supported in the past when she was nominated to the appellate court.
But Grassley has said Judge Kelly, 51, is being used as a political pawn and has indicated that he will not budge even for a fellow Iowan. The political maneuvering leaves Srinivasan, who was considering the #1 choice for the post, in limbo. Of course, it is entirely possible that if the nomination process is not completed in the life of the current administration, he could be appointed by the next Democratic president.
But the process will still have to contend with a 100-member Senate where Republicans currently hold 54 seats. With 24 Republican and 10 Democrats seats up for grabs in November, Democrats could still wrest back control of the Senate.
The ascension of Srinivasan to the US supreme court and the election of Kamala Harris to the US Senate are considered two milestones in 2016 for the IndianAmerican community.
STORY: A married and elderly couple – Kate Mercer (Rampling) and Geoff Mercer (Courtenay) – live a comfortably retired life in the British countryside. They are also still very much in love with each other. One day though, Geoff receives a letter informing him that the remains of his first sweetheart have been found after many, many years. Apart from being shaken by this news, it also threatens the foundation of their marriage, whose validity is questioned.
REVIEW: Love exists in many hues and shades and 45 Years examines a facet of this feeling that we don’t often get to see onscreen. It also analyses the dynamics of a relationship – from physical to emotional – that exist between people who have spent the better part of their lifetimes together. If two people have been together for so long, can their relationship still be shaken by a ghost from the past? And if so, wouldn’t it be a terrible feeling for a person to realize that their husband or wife has never really stopped loving someone – even if that someone is long dead?
The characters of the lead pair are also carefully fleshed out. Geoff is the more easygoing of the two, but not in a joyous way. He does seem rather vacant at times, perhaps the result of his age. Kate is the wired one, more alert and active. As the narrative unfolds, we get to see how Geoff becomes more withdrawn and introspective. No doubt about the letter he received that triggered off a torrent of memories. Kate becomes more concerned and even anguished as she uncovers more and more about Geoff’s first love. To her, these well-kept secrets (especially when Geoff refers to the lady as ‘My Katya’) are a form of betrayal, that too before their 45th anniversary.
The direction and screenplay (intertitles are used) is understated, but younger viewers might find themselves stifling a yawn or two at times. The slow pace however, can make 45 Years’ somewhat brisk run-time seem much longer. On the other hand, the film is perfect for the elderly to see, be intrigued by and savor.
NEW YORK (TIP): New York on March 3 opens the most expensive train station in the world, on the site of the World Trade Center destroyed 14 years ago in the 9/11 attacks.
Twelve years in the making, there will be no official ceremony to mark the 3 pm opening to rail commuters of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub next to the site of the Twin Towers, which were destroyed in the Al-Qaeda hijackings.
The center connects the PATH commuter rail to New Jersey with New York subway lines, provides indoor pedestrian access to the Trade Center towers and will also house an enormous shopping and restaurant plaza.
The building, designed by Spanish-Swiss architect Santiago Calatrava and called Oculus, is a giant oval made up of steel ribs and glass laid out in elliptical shape, reaching for the sky like wings of a bird.
The space measures 350 feet (107 meters) long by 115 feet (35 meters) at its widest point, according to Calatrava’s website.
Thursday is only a partial opening and the shops are slated to open in August. In the 12 years since the project was unveiled, it has been heavily criticized not just for its appearance but also for spiralling so drastically off budget and closing seven years behind schedule.
Intially budgeted at $2 billion, it has spiraled to $3.85 billion according to a spokesperson in Calatrava’s office, which would make it the most expensive station in the world.
In contrast, the temporary station which was built straight after the September 11, 2001 attacks cost just $323 million.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey admitted in a report published in 2008 that the original cost estimate was “too low to begin with” but stressed the advantages it would afford the city. It said that when completed, the transit hub will serve 250,000 people and more than 200,000 commuters each day, making it the third-largest transportation center in the city.
NEW DELHI (TIP): Thank you, Tihar. You took in an “anti-national” and sent out a national treasure.
Kanhaiya Kumar on March 3 night exploded on the collective consciousness of India, sending an electrifying spark down the nation’s spine and making fingers fly across keypads with one question: Did you watch the speech?
Freed from Tihar jail this evening, the JNU student leader delivered a speech whose underlying theme was freedom itself: ” Bharat se nahin, mere bhaiyon, Bharat mein azadi chahte hain (we don’t want freedom from India, my brothers, we want freedom in India).”
It is an idea of India that the Narendra Modi government will find difficult to crush with a sedition law. It is an idea of India that was embraced tonight by an unstoppable force on the planet: a generation in full flow in the very flower of its youth.
” Awaz do, hum ek hain, (Shout out aloud that we are one),” Kanhaiya told the cheering hordes on the campus.
Prime Minister Modi and HRD minister Smriti Irani found mention in Kanhaiya’s speech, delivered in so fluid a manner and with nary a trace of rancour that it appeared he was born for the podium.
The speech also had another far more potent narrative: the young man did not shy away from addressing the biggest criticism against the students – that they were insulting the soldiers who are risking their lives on the borders.
” Ek BJP ke saansad ne kaha ki sipahi shaheed hote hain seema par…. Main poochhna chahta hun, kya woh unka bhai hai? Khet mein jo kisan hai woh uska beta hai. Aap uske liye kya karte hain? Woh mera bhai hai, mere pita hain (one MP had said soldiers are being martyred on the borders…. I want to ask, ‘Is the soldier his brother?’ The soldier is the son of the farmer who toils in the fields. What are you doing for the farmer? The soldier is my brother and the farmer is my father),” Kanhaiya said.
He said something that should send a shiver down the spine of any government or party in a country with millions of youngsters: “We will not forget.”
” Halaki hum Bharatiya log bhoolte jaldi hain, lekin is baar ka tamasha itna bada hua, ki bhool nahin paye. (We Indians forget easily, but this time the show was so big a farce that no one could forget the slogans),” Kanhaiya told the huge audience that included JNU students, faculty members, their relatives and students from other institutions.
Over to the boy who delivered a masterly performance with a killer smile. Excerpts from the speech:
Modiji Mann ki Baat karte hain, par sunte nahin hain. (Mr Modi delivers his Mann Ki Baat but doesn’t listen).
Meri ichchha hui TV mein ghus jaoon aur unse kahoon ki thoda Hitler ki baat bhi kar lo (I felt like getting inside the TV and telling Modi to talk about Hitler too). Kanhaiya was referring to the Prime Minister’s speech in Parliament today during which Modi referred to Soviet leaders Khrushchev and Stalin.
The PM has tweeted ‘ Satyamev Jayate‘. Although I have huge differences with his ideology, I want to say ‘Yes, Satyamev Jayate.
To Smriti Irani, I would like to say: ‘We are not your child. We are JNUites’.
We have no grudges against the ABVP as we are truly democratic people. We truly believe in the Indian Constitution.
I do not hate the ABVP. I won’t hunt them. Why? Because they are not worth the hunt.
I want to thank everyone who supported me…. special thanks to all the big leaders sitting in Parliament who claim to have the power to decide what is right and wrong.
We will fight the government. They will set the cyber cell on us, doctor videos to trap us. They will even count the condoms in our dustbins. ( A BJP legislator had claimed that 3,000 used condoms, 2,000 liquor bottles, 10,000 butts of cigarettes, 50,000 big and small pieces of bones from non-vegetarian food had been found on the JNU campus.)
Bandh karna chahte hain tamam awazon ko, chahe seema pe khada ho, chahe khet mein, chahe JNU mein (they want to snuff out all the voices, whether they are on the borders of the country, whether in the farm fields, whether in JNU).
Hum Bharat se azadi nahin, Bharat mein azadi chahte hain; Bhukmari se azadi, bhrashtachar se azadi… RSS se azadi, Manuvad se azadi, jativad se azadi, hum le ke rahenge azadi (freedom from starvation, freedom from corruption… freedom from the RSS, freedom from caste, freedom from communal thought, we will get our freedom).
I was given two bowls in the jail, one blue and one red, both on one plate. It symbolised India.
JAMMU (TIP): After two-month suspense, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has said that she is not ‘stubborn’ and hinted that the party would be going ahead with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the government in Jammu and Kashmir if the latter ensures that aspirations of people were met.
Speaking during a party function on March 4, Mehbooba claimed that she was not afraid of criticism on the issue but wanted a signal from the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre that it will do everything for the welfare of people of the state. “I am not a stubborn person, if I feel that the Centre is working for the welfare of the state then surely the government will be formed,” she said. “However, if it is only for the sake of government formation, or to delay polls, or to provide some work to MLAs, let me make it clear that I am not ready,” she added.
Mehbooba, whose party has 27 MLAs in the 87-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, said if the promises are not fulfilled the formation of the government meant to keep away from the elections for five years.
NEW DELHI (TIP): In the wake of death of four Indian women in strife-torn Yemen’s Aden city, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on March 4 appealed to all Indians living in “danger zones” to return home.”I appeal to all Indians in such danger zones to please come back to India,” she tweeted. She said the nurses stayed back in Yemen, ignoring advisories by the government. “Yemen – Four Indian nurses have been killed in a terrorist attack today. I am sorry the nurses stayed back/returned ignoring our advisories,” she said in another tweet.The four Indian women were among 16 people killed in Aden city today when a group of terrorists stormed a elderly care home run by a Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charity and sprayed bullets at the residents.
NEW DELHI (TIP): The US health regulator has refused entry of 11,664 Indian products, including drugs, into the American market between January 2011 and February 2016, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
“According to refusal report data available on the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) website, 11,664 refusals of Indian products were recorded from January 2011 to February 2016,” Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said in written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
The products from India that were denied entry into the US included medicine, bakery products, fried snacks, spices, basmati rice, fisheries and herbals, she added. Dietary supplements, hair dyes and colors were also part of the no-entry list.
“The reason given for the refusal varies from problems in branding to packaging, labeling and adulteration,” the minister said.
Elaborating on the steps taken by the government to improve standards and quality to international levels, the minister said: “The steps taken by the government include tightening labeling rules and making it mandatory for companies to clearly mention the dates of manufacturing.” Other steps include improving pre-export inspection, greater emphasis on standards through sensitization of exporters for compliance of regulatory issues through export promotion agencies and also taking up the issue at bilateral trade forums wherever possible, Sitharaman said.
WASHINGTON DC (TIP): Indian American Rep. Ami Bera, D-Sacramento received endorsements from the California Democratic Party Feb. 27, during the state convention.
Bera won his endorsement, gaining nearly 90 percent of the vote. Fifty people voted for the sole Indian American in Congress, while six voted against him.
Bera – who is seeking his third term in office – is running unopposed in the primary election June 7. He will face Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones – a Republican – in the general election Nov. 8.
Bera has been opposed by some labor organizations for his vote last year supporting the Trade Promotion Authority bill in the House, which allows the president to “fast-track” trade treaties with certain countries, without Congressional oversight.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, told party delegates before the endorsement vote was taken that Bera’s position on TPA was different from her position, but that his vote on the issue should not be the sole basis for his re-election.
“He is a valued member of the Congress. He has a great base of support at the grassroots level and I think he will win,” said Pelosi.
LAHORE (TIP): A Pakistani man was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Thursday for allegedly posting religiously offensive material on his Facebook page, lawyers in the case said.
Rizwan Haider, 25, was convicted in an anti-terrorism court of three charges including promoting sectarian hatred, after he supposedly published a post referring to Prophet Mohammed.
“This case… was registered against Haider, who is a Shiite Muslim by faith, in January for posting objectionable material against the belief of Sunni Muslims,” Adeel Chattah, public prosecutor in the case, told AFP.
He was also fined 250,000 rupees ($2,500), Chattah said, adding that he denied the charges and has the right to appeal.
His lawyer dismissed the accusations.
“He only liked it and did not post it on the page,” Shameem Zaidi said.
Pakistan tightened its hate crime laws as part of a campaign to combat extremism after a Taliban attack at a school in Peshawar in December 2014 killed 153 people, mostly children.
Authorities have arrested and sentenced several religious clerics, mostly from hardline Sunni sects, for hate speech in recent months.
But Haider’s case is one of the few in which a Shiite Muslim has been jailed for such a crime.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court jailed another Shiite man for 13 years in November 2015 after he also posted what it deemed sectarian hate speech on Facebook. Rights activists condemned the ruling as “extremely concerning”. Pakistan has been gripped by sectarian violence since the 1980s, with thousands killed in clashes triggered by religious tensions.
Most of the violence is committed by Sunni militants against Shiites, who make up roughly 20 percent of Pakistan’s 200 million people.
(AFP)
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REVIEW: Some films cease to be a story or a mere depiction of an incident or an issue. You live them. They mirror the society’s mindset and in doing so, rake out your own prejudices. Aligarh is one such biographical drama that tugs at your heartstrings.
STORY: A married and elderly couple – Kate Mercer (Rampling) and Geoff Mercer (Courtenay) – live a comfortably retired life in the British countryside. They are also still very much in love with each other. One day though, Geoff receives a letter informing him that the remains of his first sweetheart have been found after many, many years. Apart from being shaken by this news, it also threatens the foundation of their marriage, whose validity is questioned.
