The Indian Panorama

Month: April 2016

  • US fake university sting: Indian Students, among Hundreds, Face Deportation over US Visa Fraud

    US fake university sting: Indian Students, among Hundreds, Face Deportation over US Visa Fraud

    NEW YORK (TIP): In an undercover operation set up by the US government to catch visa fraud, US law enforcement agencies have arrested around 21 people, including 10 Indian Americans. The students now face probable deportation. So far, arrests have been made in New York, New Jersey, Washington and Virginia.

    Mostly Indian and Chinese students are among over 1,000 people facing deportation from sting that saw 21 suspects being arrested on Tuesday, April 5, on felony charges that include conspiracy to commit visa fraud; they could face multiple years in prison.

    “Foreigners who used the services will likely not be prosecuted, but will have their visas revoked,” New Jersey US Attorney Paul Fishman told reporters on April 5.

    Federal investigators in 2013 set up the phony “University of Northern New Jersey”, which had a website that promised “exceptional” education for foreign students wishing to study in the US and provided links to academic programs, a message from the “president,” a Dr. Steven Brunetti, Ph.D.; and photos of attractive young people sitting around a library table or consulting with a faculty member.

    According to an Associated Press report, federal prosecutors said that people who benefited from the scam were mostly from China and India. These students were already on student visas and further action regarding this would be dealt by immigration authorities — meaning they would be directly deported.

    In addition to this, a sentence of five years and 10 years of imprisonment in H-1B visa fraud for illegally entering the US has also been issued.

    As per the official sources, the Indian Embassy is in constant contact with the US government for seeking fair decision for around 370 Indian students. The embassy has also appealed the US officials not to arrest and deport the Indian students.

    Last year, the US authorities cancelled the visa of students from India as many were seen enrolled in fake universities like Tri-Valley, and University of Northern Virginia, among others.

    A statement from the office of US attorney for New Jersey stated that the University of Northern New Jersey, which was established in 2013, had no professors, no curriculum, and conducted no classes.

    The statement also said that the university could issue I- 20s certificate that “operated solely as a storefront location with small offices staffed by federal agents posing as school administrators.”

    The arrested includes brokers, recruiters and employers, who have been charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud. The middlemen under arrest paid the undercover agents running the school thousands of dollars to produce paperwork that made it look as if the foreigners were enrolled at UNNJ, federal prosecutors said. This enabled the “students” to maintain their visa status without having to go to class.

    Those arrested knew the school was bogus, as did the foreigners who pretended to be students there in order to stay in the US, officials said. But they didn’t know it was set up as part of a sting by undercover agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    In the US, F-1 student visas allow foreign students to enter or remain in the country as they study.

    Immigration officials have investigated hundreds of suspected fake schools, or “visa mills,” in recent years.

  • Doctors put off surgeries in drought-hit Marathwada

    LATUR (TIP): In this district, which is one of the worst hit by the drought in Marathwada, a massive health crisis is just 15 days away, doctors there say.

    The Manjra dam and the Dhanegaon river, that used to supply water to the five lakh people of the district, have gone dry.

    Doctors and clinics in Marathwada have had to resort to using water from tankers, but that’s just not enough.

    The lack of water has severely compromised cleanliness at hospitals and clinics, and with water from private tankers being far from clean, water-borne diseases are on the rise. Now, even the water tankers aren’t enough.

    The situation is so dire that even the doctors who know better are using unsafe short cuts.

    One doctor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that after washing his hands before a surgery, he collects the waste water and then uses it to clean bed sheets.

    “I use the Autoclave method (passing it through high pressured steam) but still I know that this should not be done, but I have no other option.” said the doctor.

    For every surgery, a surgeon and her assistants are required to wash their hands with soap for 10 minutes in running water. Now, they do that in a minute and then use betadine or other disinfectants to clean their hands.

    All doctors in Latur that TOI spoke to said they are finding it difficult to treat patients without adequate water.

    “We had dug three bore wells one of which was dug 700 feet within our hospital that used to give us half an hour of water each day. All of the bore wells ran dry in January this year. To conduct a surgery we don’t have the right amount of water to wash our hands.” said Dr Sanjay Warad who runs a maternity and surgical hospital.

    Hospitals that used to be cleaned twice day are now just dry-mopped. With not enough water to wash sheets, hospitals are spending money on disposable linens.

    Water supply to washbasin taps in all the hospitals has been shut. Patients and their relatives who look after them are being given just one 30 litre bucket of water a day for all their needs.

    At first, many doctors made do with water from private tankers.

    But now, all the 160-odd clinics or hospitals in Latur have drastically reduced the number of surgeries they perform and have planned. They will only operate if it’s an emergency.

    There are some doctors, like Dr Snehal Deshmukh, who can’t postpone operations. Deshmukh is a gynaecologist who runs a maternity hospital in Latur.

    “We can’t postpone deliveries,” she says, adding that women who’ve had caesarean deliveries are now being sent home after 4 days, compared with 5-7 days earlier.

  • 10 Credit Hours of CME offered to Participants during 34th Annual AAPI Convention in New York

    10 Credit Hours of CME offered to Participants during 34th Annual AAPI Convention in New York

    NEW YORK CITY, NY (TIP): The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) that represents more than 100,000 Indian American Physicians, reflects the range of physician specialties seen in the physician community at large with 61% in Primary Care, 33% in Medical sub-specialties and 6% in surgical sub-specialties. Medical specialty representation includes pediatrics, psychiatry, anesthesiology/pain management, cardiology, family medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, oncology, gastroenterology pathology, endocrinology, nephrology, rheumatology along with many other fields.

    The 34th Annual AAPI Convention & Scientific Assembly will be held at Marriott Marquis in New York, NY from June 30 to July 4, 2016. The multidisciplinary CME conference during the convention allows specialists and primary care physicians to interact in an academic forum. World-renowned speakers will discuss gaps between current and best practice of wide-ranging topics of CME sessions.

    It’s a well-known fact that physicians of Indian origin excel in their respective areas of work and continue to play key roles in patient care, administration, academics and medical research. In order to cater to its diversity of medical specialties, AAPI continues to use a multi-disciplinary conference format. “The essence of AAPI is educational,” Dr. Seema Jain, president of AAPI, while describing the purpose of CME said.

    According to Dr. Seema Jain, “That translates into numerous Continuing Medical Education and non-CME seminars by experts in their fields. CME will provide comprehensive and current reviews and guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of various disease states to reduce morbidity and mortality and achieve cost effective quality care outcomes. At the end of the activity, it is expected that attendees will gain an understanding of the causation, diagnosis and the best clinical practices for the management of the diverse group of diseases discussed during this program.”

    On Friday, July 1st, Dr. Donald Lloyd Jones, Writer of AHA and ACC Guidelines & Chairman of PSM at North Western University, Chicago IL will present CME on New Cholesterol Guidelines and Implication. Dr. Jeffrry Mackanick, Director of Clinical Diabetes MSSM will discuss with the delegates on Guidelines in management of Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes. Dr. Clive Rosendoeff will present on Recent trends in Management of Hypertension.

    Management of Prostate related disease and Cancer of Prostate will be the topic discussed by Dr. Ashutosh Tiwari, Chair of Urology at Mt. Sinai Medical Center, while Modern Trends in Management of Multiple Myeloma will be presented by Dr. Sunder Jaggannath, Director of Multiple Myeloma Center, NY. New Imaging Guidelines for smokers and Contemporary Management will be addressed in his presentation by Dr. Manjit Bains at Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital, NYC. Dr. Sanjeev Gupta will address the delegates on New Development Inflammatory Liver Disease.

    On Saturday, Dr. Valentine Fuster, Editor in Chief of JACC, will deliver his address on ways to “Promoting Cardio Vascular Health Globally from Heart to Head.” Dr. Robert Banow, Editor in Chief of JAMA Cardiology, will discuss with participants about the “Timing of Surgical intervention for Mitral/Aortic Valve regurgitation.” Dr. Javed Butler, Chief of Cardiology at State of New York University, Stony Brook, will focus his lecture on Advances in Heart Failure, while Dr. Devendra Mehta,

    Director of EP Services at St. Luke Hospital, NYC will present on Advances in Treatment of Arrhythmias. The lecture by Dr. John Puskus, Chairman of Cardio Thoracic Surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center, NY will be on Complete Arterial Vascularization, and, Dr. Samin Sharma, Chair of Cardiology at Mt Sinai Medical Center, NYC will address the audience on Advances in Interventional Cardiology.

    On Sunday, July 3, 2016, the focus will be on mental health issues. Depression and Mood Disorder of Moods in Women will be topic addressed by Dr. A. Patkar and Association, while Dr. Samuel Gandy will address on Mild Cognitive Dysfunction to Alzheimer Disease is Prevention or Option. Dr. Sharmila Makhija, Chair of OB/GYN at Albert Einstein Medical Center’s theme will be on Recent Advances in Management of Cancer of Ovary, Dr. James Abraham from the Cleveland Clinic will address on New Advances in Management of Cancer of Breast, and the final presentation will be on Women Health and Advances.

    The 34th annual AAPI Convention in New York from June 30th through July 1st, 2016, while providing physicians of Indian origin an opportunity to come together in an atmosphere of collegiality, it will enable them to retrace and appreciate their common roots, culture and the bond that unites them as members of this large professional community.

    Giving them a platform to celebrate their accomplishments, the annual convention to be attended by nearly 2,000 physicians of Indian origin, it will also provide a forum to renew their professional commitment through continuing medical educations activities.

    The annual convention this year is being organized by AAPI’s New Jersey Chapter, headed by Dr. Rita Ahuja, who said, “The 2016 AAPI Annual Convention & Scientific Assembly offers an exciting venue to interact with leading physicians, health professionals, academicians, and scientists of Indian origin. Physicians and healthcare professionals from across the country will convene and participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances, to develop health policy agendas, and to encourage legislative priorities in the coming year.”

    “Many of the physicians who will attend this convention have excelled in different specialties and subspecialties and occupy high positions as faculty members of medical schools, heads of departments, and executives of hospital staff. The AAPI Convention offers an opportunity to meet directly with these physicians who are leaders in their fields and play an integral part in the decision-making process regarding new products and services,” Dr. Seema Jain added.

  • “If Winter Comes, Can Spring be far behind?” RANA Celebrates arrival of Spring

    “If Winter Comes, Can Spring be far behind?” RANA Celebrates arrival of Spring

    MELVILLE, NY (TIP):The Spring Festival Celebrations organized by RANA, March 26 saw more than 1000 people from many Indian Communities gather together and celebrate the festivities under one roof.

    RANA continues to be a trendsetter by organizing this one of a kind event titled – ‘GLAMOUR WITH HUMOUR’-  a combination of a Fashion Show, Dance Performances and Standup Comedy & Poetry held in the Tristate area for the first time.

    Impressive classical dance performance by renowned Bollywood & TV actress Prachee Shah Pandya
    Impressive classical dance performance by renowned Bollywood & TV actress Prachee Shah Pandya

    Speaking on the occasion, RANA President, Naveen C Shah mentioned that “As part of meeting the organization’s charitable objective of caring for orphans, the RANA Board has decided to adopt 1000 children in orphanages in India over their lifetime and support them for all operational expenses including food, shelter, clothing and educational requirements. We need $250,000 to achieve this objective and I urge all those present to donate generously to this noble cause by contributing financial and intellectual resources to achieve this goal.”

    A spectacular Fashion Show with the trendiest, glamorous and latest styles by leading designers with stunning & gorgeous models choreographed by Nishi Bahl of Panache Entertainment interspersed by electrifying dance performances by students of Arya Dance Academy arranged by Shilpa Jhurani entertained the packed audience. A classical dance performance by renowned Bollywood & TV actress – Prachee Shah Pandya and standup comedy and satirical poetry recitals by renowned poets and comedians from India, moderated by the incomparable Master of Ceremonies – Shailesh Lodha and his team of poets – Dinesh Kumar, Mahendra Kumar & Vishnu Dayal Saxena were the highlights of the evening. Attendees were also seen  enjoying shopping in the exhibitions area – ‘Basant Ritu Bazaar’ featuring designer clothing, fashion jewelry, ethnic foods and artifacts & handicrafts from India Traditional Indian & Rajasthani cuisine catered by Mint Caterers was a great attraction with the visitors. Hospitality was provided by Hilton Huntington Long Island, Decorations by Exclusive Events, Sound & Light by DJ Parminder and Video and Photography by 3D Digitals.

    RANA could justly be proud of adding another memorable event to its long list of unforgettable events.

    Money makes the mare go.

  • GOPIO Tri-State New York Area Discusses Community Issues with the Consul General Riva Ganguly Das

    GOPIO Tri-State New York Area Discusses Community Issues with the Consul General Riva Ganguly Das

    NEW YORK CITY, NY (TIP): GOPIO officers, chapter delegates and a selected group of GOPIO Life Members from the Tri-State New York area met India’s new Consul General in New York Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das and other Consuls on March 30th at the Indian Consulate and had a fruitful interactive session on community issues and how the Indian American community can effectively be involved in India’s development.

    Consul General Das welcomed the GOPIO delegation and said that GOPIO is an important organization to interact since GOPIO reaches out all sections of our community. Dr. Mohapatra explained on the current consular services provided from the Consulate and steps taken to improve and make it easier for the community.

    The meeting was organized by GOPIO’s Tristate New York Coordinator Lal Motwani and was attended by the newly elected International Coordinator for North America Dr. Rajeev Mehta and delegates from GOPIO-New York, GOPIO-Upper New York, GOPIO-Connecticut and GOPIO-Central Jersey and many Life Members who have served in various capacities in the past. Dr. Thomas Abraham, GOPIO Founder President and Executive Trustee of GOPIO Foundation brought some of the community issues and many avenues where the community and the Consulate could cooperate for mutual benefits. These included the following:

    Increased cooperation with the Consulate and Indian Community (Consulate celebrations of national events and festivals, consulate representation at Indian community meetings, participation in Consulate’s lecture/seminar series, Meeting with Indian delegation, etc.); Utilizing community contacts with elected officials for promoting Indian’s causes; Reaching out next generation Indian Americans and involving them for India’s causes; Issuance of Visa and Passport in emergencies; Improving consular services and shortening delay in OCI card issuance; Improving services by Cox and Kings and BLS International; Emergency help for Indian citizens in time of distress, death, etc.; Reaching out and interacting with the PIO communities in the New York area (large Indo-Caribbean community); and Promoting India to general American public.

    GOPIO Founder President Dr. Thomas Abraham presenting a book 'Global Indian Disapora - GOPIO Making an Impact' to Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das. From l. to r GOPIO Central Jersey President Dinesh Mittal, GOPIO International Coordinator Rajeev Mehta, GOPIO Upper New York Secretary Patsy Leopold, Dr. Abraham, Ambassador Ganguly Das, GOPIO Tri-State Area coordinator Lal Motwani and GOPIO New York President Anand Ahuja
    GOPIO Founder President Dr. Thomas Abraham presenting a book ‘Global Indian Disapora – GOPIO Making an Impact’ to Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das. From l. to r GOPIO Central Jersey President Dinesh Mittal, GOPIO International Coordinator Rajeev Mehta, GOPIO Upper New York Secretary Patsy Leopold, Dr. Abraham, Ambassador Ganguly Das, GOPIO Tri-State Area coordinator Lal Motwani and GOPIO New York President Anand Ahujagop

    Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das reinforced the importance of the community reaching out the elected officials and interacting with the new generations of Indian Americans. Dr. Mohapatra told that the passport services from BLS International will be taken over Cox and Kings and he would make sure the transition is smooth. He also suggested the community to write to helpline@indiacgny.org for any visa, passport and OCI issues.

    Apart from Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das, other officials present from the Consulate at the meeting were Deputy Consul General Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, Consul Sandeep Kumar (Passport and Visa), Vice Consul Sandeep Grover (OCI) and Passport Officers Devvrat Chakravarthy and Suman Bala.

    For more information on GOPIO, contact Lal K. Motwani, GOPIO Coordinator for New York Tri-State Area. Tel: Tel: 516-581-3332, lmotwani@verizon.net

  • Hum Hindustani hosts Community Reception to Ambassador Riva Ganguli Das

    Hum Hindustani hosts Community Reception to Ambassador Riva Ganguli Das

    HICKSVILLE, NY (TIP): Hum Hindustani took the initiative to gather the community and business leaders on Easter Evening to welcome the new Consul General of India, Mrs. Riva Ganguly Das to Long Island in New York.

    Hum HindustaniAmbassador Das spoke about the services being provided at the Consulate and assured the community that the Consulate was committed to not only providing “efficient and clean services” but she would ensure the Consulate served as a bridge between Indian and Indian American businesses. She said she believed in open door policy and would welcome everyone to the Consulate and any suggestion from the community.

    George Maragos, Nassau County Comptroller who was Guest of Honor, presented a citation to Ambassador Das. Zahid Syed, Chairman, Human Rights Commission represented the County Executive Edward Mangano andpresented Nassau County Proclamation to the Ambassador.

    Earlier, Ambassador Das was warmly welcomed by Hum Hindustani publisher Jay Jasbir Singh.

    A number of dance performances presented by various age groups added color and charm to the evening which folded up with a dinner.

  • Corruption, Politics & Cover-ups | The Panama Outbreak

    Corruption, Politics & Cover-ups | The Panama Outbreak

    NEW YORK (TIP): The Panama Papers is a global investigation into the sprawling, secretive industry of offshore that the world’s rich and powerful use to hide assets and skirt rules by setting up front companies in far-flung jurisdictions.

    Based on a trove of more than 11 million leaked files, the investigation exposes a cast of characters and a shadowy industry that uses offshore companies to facilitate bribery, arms deals, tax evasion, financial fraud and drug trafficking. The people it allegedly exposed ranged from political leaders like Russian President Vladmir Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, President of Argentina, Iceland’s Prime Minister who has since resigned in the wake of disclosures, and the King of Saudi Arabia as well as 500 Indians including Bollywood actors Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

    Eleven million leaked documents held by the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca were passed to German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, which then shared them with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.The ICIJ then worked with journalists from 107 media organizations in 76 countries to analyze the documents for over a year.

    What are the Panama Papers?

    The files show how Mossack Fonseca clients were able to launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax.

    In one case, the company offered an American millionaire fake ownership records to hide money from the authorities. This is in direct breach of international regulations designed to stop money laundering and tax evasion.

    It is the biggest leak in history, dwarfing the data released by the Wikileaks organization in 2010. For context, if the amount of data released by Wikileaks was equivalent to the population of San Francisco, the amount of data released in the Panama Papers is the equivalent to that of India.

    What is Mossack Fonesca?

    Mossack Fonseca is the world’s fourth biggest provider of offshore services and its services include incorporating companies in offshore jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands. It administers offshore firms for a yearly fee. Other services include wealth management. It has acted for more than 300,000 companies.

    The firm is Panamanian but, according to its website, has a global network with 600 people working in 42 countries. It has franchises around the world, where separately owned affiliates sign up new customers and have exclusive rights to use its brand.

    Mossack Fonseca operates in tax havens including Switzerland, Cyprus and the British Virgin Islands, and in the British crown dependencies Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

    More than half of the companies are registered in British-administered tax havens, as well as in the UK itself.

    Who is in the papers?

    There are links to 12 current or former heads of state and government in the data, including dictators accused of looting their own countries.

    More than 60 relatives and associates of heads of state and other politicians are also implicated.

    The files also reveal a suspected billion-dollar money laundering ring involving close associates of Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin.

    Also mentioned are the brother-in-law of China’s President Xi Jinping; Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko; Argentina President Mauricio Macri; the late father of UK Prime Minister David Cameron and three of the four children of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

    The documents show that Iceland’s Prime Minister, Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, had an undeclared interest linked to his wife’s wealth. He has now resigned.

    The scandal also touches football’s world governing body, FIFA.

    The leak has also revealed that more than 500 banks, including their subsidiaries and branches, registered nearly 15,600 shell companies with Mossack Fonseca.

    Lenders have denied allegations that they are helping clients to avoid tax by using complicated offshore arrangements.

    How do tax havens work?

    Although there are legitimate ways of using tax havens, most of what has been going on is about hiding the true owners of money, the origin of the money and avoiding paying tax on the money.

    Some of the main allegations center on the creation of shell companies, that have the outward appearance of being legitimate businesses, but are just empty shells. They do nothing but manage money, while hiding who owns it.

    In all, the details of 214,000 entities, including companies, trusts and foundations, were leaked.

    The information in the documents dates back to 1977, and goes up to December last year. Emails make up the largest type of document leaked, but images of contracts and passports were also released.

    How can I read the papers?

    So far, a searchable archive is not available at the moment.

    There is a huge amount of data, and much of it reportedly includes personal information (including passport details), and does not necessarily include those suspected of criminal activity.

    Having said that, there is plenty of information out there.

    The ICIJ has put together a comprehensive list of the main figures implicated here – you can also search by country.

    You can sign up on the ICIJ’s website for any major updates on the Panama Papers here.

    What Next?

    The major data leak triggered a series of probes by various state authorities across the globe.

    After vowing to “vigorously cooperate” with any legal probe, the Panama prosecutors on Monday said, “The facts described in national and international communication media publications under the term ‘Panama Papers’ will be the subject of criminal investigation.”

    The people of Iceland protested to oust their Prime Minister Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, while China censored the access to sites and media coverage on the Panama Papers after President Xi Jinping was also implicated in the matter.

    India too reacted sharply to the exposè and set up a multi-agency probe group comprising of the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bureau of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to probe the list of 500 Indians including celebrities and industrialists.

  • H-1B Cap Reached: Majority of Applications by Indian Companies: 250k Applications in 5 Days

    H-1B Cap Reached: Majority of Applications by Indian Companies: 250k Applications in 5 Days

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The US government is believed to have received about 250,000 petitions for H-1B visas – the most sought after American work visas — with a majority of them being from either Indian companies or having huge footprint in India.

    In 2015, about 2,30,000 petitions for H1-B visa were received. This year, the US believes it may have received about 2,50,000 petitions for the most sought-after work visa.

    The US Citizenship and Immigration Services yesterday, April 6 said it has reached the Congressional mandated cap for H-1B visas in the general category and also the 20,000 for those who completed higher education from inside the US in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.

    USCIS did not give the number of H-1B petitions it received since April 1, when it started accepting applications for this most coveted visa for the fiscal year 2017 beginning October 1, this year. But, it says the successful petitions would be determined by a computerized draw of lots.

    As of now, below are the H1B cap number for fiscal year 2017. The below numbers are confirmed in press release by USCIS on Mar 16, 2016.

    • Regular H1B Quota: 65,000
    • H1B Master’s Degree Quota (only US Master Degrees): 20,000
    • Out of the above, a total of 6,800 is usually set aside for Singapore and Chile citizens as part of the free trade agreement between them.

    Summary of H1B 2017 Cap Reached News from USCIS

    • Congressionally mandated H1B visa cap for FY 2017 reached as USCIS received enough number of petitions for this fiscal year 2017.
    • USCIS has also received more than 20,000 petitions for the master’s cap.

    H1B 2017 Lottery Details:

    • As there were more petitions received by USCIS than required for the H1B cap, USCIS will conduct a random selection process, aka popularly called as H1B lottery, to pick the necessary cap count of 65,000 petitions for regular quota and 20,000 for master’s quota to fulfill the FY 2017 cap.
    • Lottery will be conducted for US Master’s students quota first and then the unselected petitions will be part of the general group to conduct lottery for the selecting the remaining 65,000 petitions.
    • All the unselected petitions, which are not duplicate will be rejected and return along with the filing fees
    • USCIS will consider all the H1B petitions received during the 5-day filing window from April 1st through April 7th for conducting this lottery.
    • H1B Lottery Date: As there were lot of H1B petitions filed, USCIS at the moment cannot really announce the date of H1B Lottery, as they need to do the initial paperwork for all the petitions so that the lottery can be conducted for the petitions received properly.

    H1B Cap Exempt Petitions:

    • USCIS will NOT include the cap-exempt petitions, aka who already have filed earlier and counted towards H1B cap, in the lottery selection process.
    • USCIS will continue to accept all the cap-exempt petitions that are filed with USCIS that fall under the below categories
    • H1B transfers, H1B extensions
    • H1B petitions for changes in employment terms
    • Second H1B petition to work concurrently for those who have been part of cap.
  • PM Modi Announces 24X7 Helpline for Non-Resident Indians

    PM Modi Announces 24X7 Helpline for Non-Resident Indians

    RIYADH (TIP): Reaching out to Non-Resident Indians, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, April 3 night announced a 24X7 multi-lingual helpline for them and said a move to regularize migration was in the offing through an online program.

    Asserting that the NRIs could count on the Indian government in the times of crisis, he said they could use the avenues like the MADAD portal to reach the government for help.

    Specifically, for Indians in Saudi Arabia, he announced the setting up of worker resource centers in Riyadh and Jeddah to provide them with all necessary help. Addressing a gathering of L&T workers who are constructing metro rail in Riyadh, he said the country was proud of their contribution which has enhanced India’s image abroad and opened doors for overseas employment opportunities for their compatriots.

    “Whenever any good news regarding you people comes; I feel as happy as your family. When there is news of some concern regarding you, I feel the pain like your family would because you are my family,” PM Modi said, adding that he shared their happiness and sorrow.

    “Government has started a program called e-migrate. In the coming days, we are working to regularize migration,” he said.

    “In the coming days, we plan to establish worker resource centers in Riyadh and Jeddah to meet your needs and there will also be a 24X7 helpline. A call center will be established whose facilities can be availed in different languages and through this helpline you can share your problems,” PM Modi said.

  • World’s first dengue fever vaccine launched in the Philippines

    World’s first dengue fever vaccine launched in the Philippines

    MANILA (TIP): Dengue fever infects 390 million people each year, and kills as many as 25,000, according to the World Health Organization.

    The disease could soon see these numbers decline as the Philippines start administering the world’s first dengue vaccine to high-risk children.

    The historic drug took 20 years and$1.8 billion to develop. The Philippines’ Department of Health launched a school-based immunization program in highly affected areas, making it the first country where the vaccine is commercially available.

    Around 70% of dengue fever cases occur in Asia, with the Philippines reporting 200,000 cases in 2013, according to Sanofi.

    It’s one of the world’s most common mosquito-borne viruses, with severe symptoms including headaches, rashes and leaking blood vessels.

    The makers of the vaccine are confident it can reduce cases in the Philippines by 24% over the next five years.

  • Volume 10 Issue 14 | New York

    Volume 10 Issue 14 | New York

    Celebrating 10 Years of The Indian Panorama

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    Volume 10 Issue 14 | New York April 08

     

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  • Indian-Origin Man Sentenced For USD 2 Million Fraud In US

    Indian-Origin Man Sentenced For USD 2 Million Fraud In US

    An Indian American talent agent from New Jersey who stole about $2 million from concert promoters when he lied about being able to deliver the likes of Chris Brown and T-Pain was sentenced on Monday to up to 78 months in prison for falsely promising to book famous recording artists for events.

    Yugeshwar Rajkumar, 45, of Teaneck, previously pleaded guilty to first-degree fraud and numerous counts of grand larceny, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a news release.

    Rajkumar’s scheme began in 2008 when he falsely promised clients and event promoters that he would book recording artists such as Akon, Chris Brown, T-Pain and MC Hammer for overseas concerts. He then accepted payments ranging from $45,000 to $300,000.

    Rajkumar then used the money to pay rent, legal fees, personal debts and make car payments, according to authorities.

    In most instances, the promoters’ planned concerts in Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East never materialized.

    “The defendant took advantage of his reputation in the music industry to convince his victims to pay him tens of thousands of dollars to secure supposed performances by world-famous recording artists,” Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said in a statement.

    Rajkumar also went by the names “Mateo Rajkumar” and “Matthew Rajkumar,” the DA said. His other companies included Mateo Productions and Kayvana Entertainment.

    Yugeshwar Rajkumar of New Jersey, who had pleaded guilty last month in New York State Supreme Court to grand larceny and fraud charges, was also ordered to pay USD 1.7 million in restitution.

    Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said Rajkumar was a booking agent and stole more than USD 2 million from clients by falsely promising to book famous recording artists for events.

    “The defendant took advantage of his reputation in the music industry to convince his victims to pay him tens of thousands of dollars to secure supposed performances by world-famous recording artists,” Vance said.

    Around 2008, Rajkumar falsely promised clients and event promoters that he would book popular recording artists for overseas concerts, including Akon and Chris Brown.

    In exchange for the supposed booking, Rajkumar charged his clients between USD 45,000 and USD 300,000, and directed them to wire payments to bank accounts held by entities based in New York and controlled by him.

    However, instead of using the money to book the promised artists, he made cash withdrawals and spent the money on rent, car payments, legal fees, and personal debts, Vance said.

    In many cases, victims were forced to pay additional fees to secure performances by desired artists who were never booked by Rajkumar.

  • Elderly Sikh couple attacked in US; robbery suspected

    Elderly Sikh couple attacked in US; robbery suspected

    San Francisco, April 6 | In yet another case of violence against Sikhs in California’s Fresno city, a elderly Sikh man was left bloodied and bruised after armed robbers attacked him while he was taking a walk along with his wife.

    However, police said it was not a case of hate crime but seemed like robbers picking on older people.

    The robbers struck on Monday night on the northwest side of the Fresno town.

    The victims, the man and his 69-year-old wife who have not been named, were taking their nightly walk when they noticed three young men walking towards them.

    Two of those men caught up and one of them was armed.

    “He pulled out a folding knife and told the male victim he wanted money and his cell phone. He repeated that three times,” Fresno police Lt Joe Gomez was quoted as saying by KFSN-TV.

    The man did not have any money, but he gave up his phone.

    As soon as he did, the guy without a knife launched an attack.

    “He just rushes and kind of cold cocks the victim in the face, really for no reason,” Gomez said.

    The elderly man fell to the ground as blood spilled all over his clothes. The robbers then patted down his wife to make sure she had nothing of value and then they took off.

    “It looks like young robbers picking on older people. That’s what the motivation is here,” Gomez said while stating that it was not a hate crime.

    Just a couple blocks from the scene of the attack is a new Gurdwara and members there have been on high alert in light of recent assaults classified as hate crimes against Sikhs.

    A 68-year-old Sikh man was stabbed to death in Fresno city on January 1 this year.

    Alexis Mendoza and Daniel Wilson are charged with a hate crime for attacking Amrik Singh Bal, including by running him down in a car — an act caught on surveillance video from a home in the area in December.

    Last September, Gilbert Garcia was convicted of attacking 82-year-old Piara Singh because of his cultural appearance.

  • Busted: 10 Indian-Americans arrested for visa fraud

    Busted: 10 Indian-Americans arrested for visa fraud

    Washington, April 6 | Ten Indian Americans are among 21 people arrested as part of a sting operation in which a fake university was created by US authorities to expose a visa scam that allowed more than 1,000 foreigners to maintain student and work visas.

    In a nationwide sweep, federal authorities arrested 21 people in New York, New Jersey, Washington and Virginia. “These defendants arranged to obtain visas by having individuals enroll in a fake university. Unfortunately for them, the fake university was run by undercover agents of the Department of Homeland Security,” Paul J Fishman, US Attorney for New Jersey, told reporters.

    The arrested people were brokers, recruiters and employers who unlawfully and fraudulently obtained or attempted to obtain student visas and foreign worker visas for approximately 1,000 foreign nationals from 26 countries.

    It is learnt that a large number of students who received necessary visa and permits to work in the US as a result of the sting operation for which they reportedly paid huge sums of money are from India.

    Officials, however, did not give the number of Indian students who were trapped by this year-long sting operation done by immigration and law enforcement authorities.

    While the US Government did not reveal the nationality of the arrested people, names released by authorities indicate that 10 of them are either Indians or of Indian-origin.

    Those name include: Tajesh Kodali, Jyoti Patel, Shahjadi M Parvin, Narendra Singh Plaha, Sanjeev Sukhija, Harpreet Sachdeva, Avinash Shankar, Karthik Nimmala, Govardhan Dyavarashetty and Syed Qasim Abbas.

  • ‘India for Hindus only? Leave religion out of it | Bombay High Court questions the agenda

    ‘India for Hindus only? Leave religion out of it | Bombay High Court questions the agenda

    Nagpur, April 6 | Expressing anguish over the move to recite “Hanuman Chalisa” at an AIDS awareness programme, the Bombay High Court has asked the BJP-ruled Nagpur Municipal Corporation if, according to it, “India is for Hindus only”.

    The Nagpur Bench, while hearing a PIL, expressed strong reservations over the plan to recite “Hanuman Chalisa” at its AIDS awareness event, in association with Poddareshwar Ram Mandir Trust, here tomorrow.

    “Why only recital of Hanuman Chalisa and why not from Quran, the Bible or other religious literature? What is the nexus of AIDS awareness and Hanuman Chalisa recital? Is it only Hindus who contract AIDS? Is chanting of Hanuman Chalisa the only remedy for eradication of this deadly disease?” a Division Bench said.

    “If people can come for this event, they will also come for the recitation of the Quran and Bible,” they observed.

    The Judges disposed of the PIL after both the NMC and event convener agreed to disassociate with the two events.

    They asked for an hour’s gap between the AIDS awareness event and the  recitation, which over 1.5 lakh people are expected to attend. — PTI

  • Two top militants of Hizbul killed in Shopian encounter

    Two top militants of Hizbul killed in Shopian encounter

    Two top Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including a former policeman, were killed on Thursday in a gunbattle with security forces in Shopian district of south Kashmir.

    An encounter broke out between security forces and militants in Vehil village of Shopian, 55 km from here, after the troops of 62 Rashtriya Rifles launched a search operation in the area, an Army official said.

    Two militants were killed in the encounter, he said, adding that two weapons were recovered from them.

    The dead militants have been identified as Naseer Ahmad Pandit and Inamul Haq, alias Waseem Malla, both wanted militants of the Hizbul Mujahideen, the official said.

    Pandit had joined militant ranks after deserting police force last year. He was posted on security duty at the residence of PDP MLA and then Works Minister Altaf Bukhari at the time of quitting the force.

  • Disclose assets by April 21, SC tells Mallya after Banks reject Banks reject his Rs 4,000 crore repayment offer

    Disclose assets by April 21, SC tells Mallya after Banks reject Banks reject his Rs 4,000 crore repayment offer

    New Delhi, April 7 | The Supreme Court on Thursday directed beleaguered liquor baron Vijay Mallya to disclose to it all his assets—movable and immovable and tangible and intangible—and other interests in India and abroad by April 21.

    An apex court Bench comprising Justice Kurien Joseph and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman asked Mallya to disclose all the assets held by his wife and children and also indicate the date when he could appear before it in person.

    The order came after the consortium of 14 banks headed by the State Bank Of India (SBI) told the apex court that that it had rejected Mallya’s offer to pay Rs.4,000 crore by September to settle his outstanding dues amounting to more than Rs 9,000 crore.

    The banks had given loans to his grounded Kingfisher Airlines.

    In Other News; Social media is going gaga with songs about Mallya’s debt and the pattern between him and Sahara’s Subrota

    Watch Here

    <iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZPsjIp8X1MU?rel=0&amp;showinfo=0″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

     

  • NIA approaches FBI, other agencies to track cyber footprints

    NIA approaches FBI, other agencies to track cyber footprints

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has approached probe agencies of some foreign countries, including the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in connection with its probe into the Pathankot terror attack.

    The help of the agencies is being sought even as Central probe agencies still await a formal response from Pakistan for allowing a NIA team to that country for a thorough investigation.

    Official sources said today that the help of some of the agencies, including the FBI, had been sought for tracking some of the cyber footprints that had been left by handlers of Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) in the aftermath of the attack on the strategic IAF base at Pathankot on the intervening night of January 1 and 2.

    Immediately after the attack, Abdul Rauf, brother of Jaish chief Maulana Masood Azhar, was seen on a video taking responsibility on a website ‘alqalam.com’ and ‘rangonoor.com’ which were hosted by a US-based domain service provider.

    While ‘alqalam’ was shut down before the arrival of Pakistan’s Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to India last week, the other one remains hosted but the video has been removed.

    The payments for the same website have been routed through a European country and NIA has sought details of the persons who made the payments and was subsequently renewing the contract with the domain provider, the sources said.

    The NIA has also approached other international agencies regarding the weapons and other equipment seized after the 80-hour gunbattle with the terrorists at Pathankot.

    NIA has conveyed to the Pakistani JIT which was headed by Additional Inspector General of Police, Counter Terrorism Department, Muhammad Tahir Rai and also including ISI’s Lt Col Tanvir Ahmed, that the cooperation was extended in accordance with terms of reference mutually agreed on the basis of reciprocity and that it was waiting for a permission to visit that country.

    The NIA has also sent a Letters Rogatory to Pakistan for which a response was still awaited.

    The sources said NIA has provided all the evidence to the Pakistani JIT on the basis of written requests submitted by them to the central probe agency.

    The terrorists entered the air base and mounted the brazen assault on the intervening night of January 1 and 2. In the fierce encounter that ensued, seven security personnel besides four terrorists were killed.

  • Pak-American who put up anti-Hindu signs at eatery forced to sell franchise

    Pak-American who put up anti-Hindu signs at eatery forced to sell franchise

    A Pakistani-American owner, who put up anti-Hindu signs at a popular US eatery, has been forced to sell the franchise amid furore over the controversial posters that upset thousands of Indian-Americans.

    Mohd. Dar
    Mohammad Dar (pictured), 65, posted the messages six months ago at his location in Kemah, Texas

    Mohammad Dar, 65, agreed to give up his business in Kemah, Texas, Dairy Queen said.

    “We are pleased to announce that as of Wednesday, March 30th, the DQ location in Kemah, Texas is now under new ownership and all interior and exterior signs posted by the former franchisee were immediately removed from that location,” said Dean A Peters, Associate Vice-President of Communications of American Dairy Queen Corporation headquartered in Minneapolis.

    For the past six months, Dar’s Dairy Queen restaurant posted signs bashing Hinduism as a force of racism. Some of the messages, displayed on tall panels, mentioned Hinduism specifically and accused it of being based on racism.

    Dar taped more messages near the register, on the drive- through window and placed a large sign outside of the restaurant in the parking lot.

    The owner told local media that he planned to leave because of a new, expensive “corporate mandate”.

    The Hindus of Greater Houston, Hindu American Foundation and Diversity USA, welcomed a change in ownership at the Dairy Queen eatery.

    “After speaking with Dairy Queen’s spokesperson, we applaud Dairy Queen for taking action to move up the timing of the sale of this location in Kemah to another franchisee owner in order to have these anti-Hindu signs removed swiftly,” the statement said.

    “We also urge Dairy Queen to incorporate policies and procedures in their franchisee agreement to prevent such a situation from happening again,” it said.

     

  • Rift in Pakistan’s civil-military power relations?

    Rift in Pakistan’s civil-military power relations?

    ISLAMABAD (PTI): The Pakistan army spokesman’s recent tweets and statements have hinted tensions between civil and military leadership of the country which has been struggling to contain terrorism and extremism, a leading Pakistani daily commented on April 1.

    “Military spokesman Lt Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa’s tweets and statements have exposed civil-military tensions at a time when the nation expects the best coordination and unison between the two sides in their fight against terrorism,” the News International said.

    It said the civilian government might not be delivering as per the expectations of the military establishment, “but making such differences public will not benefit the cause of effectively fighting terrorism and extremism.”

    In the post-Lahore attack scenario, there was a need to improve the coordination between all the state institutions to check terrorism but the army spokesman’s tweets did otherwise, the daily said.

    “During a press conference jointly addressed by the information minister (Pervez Rashid) and the DG ISPR, the latter again said that furthered the rift between the two sides,” it said.

    “Additionally, this situation tends to undermine the civilian supremacy as guaranteed by the Constitution and gives the impression as if the military is acting like a supra-governmental body over and above the country’s chief executive,” it said.

    The daily opined that in case of any difference of opinion, the best course of action for both the sides should be to  “discuss such matters behind closed doors”.

  • Taliban couldn’t erase Pak man’s sense of humor

    Taliban couldn’t erase Pak man’s sense of humor

    ISLAMABAD (TIP): A Pakistani man, Shahbaz Taseer, who was held by the Taliban for nearly five years before being abruptly freed this month, is lighting up Twitter with his frank and often-humourous account of his captivity.

    Taseer is a son of Salman Taseer, the liberal Punjab governor assassinated in 2011. He was taken hostage a few months after his father was murdered.

    Taseer has turned down interview requests but this week he took to Twitter — his late father was also a prolific user and early adopter — to share his story in his own words.

    Pakistanis have been riveted as Taseer and his wife Maheen light up the Internet with their funny, loving and often heart-stopping account of his captivity and release.

    When asked what he said to his wife the first time he saw her, he replied: “i told you id come back”.

    She also described the moment of their reunion: “I was crying with happiness, could hardly speak but hugged him and told him I love him”.

    Using the hashtag #AskST, he invited questions from fans eager to find out more about his detention, where according to militant sources, he was shuffled between various extremist groups in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

    Asked whether he remained loyal to his favourite football team Manchester United, he replied: “U can’t be a united fan it’s a family”.

    His wife later chirped in asking “who is number one, me or @ManUtd?”, with Taseer responding: “You… but they are a VERY close second :)”

    Some responses, while light-hearted, hinted at darker times.

    “How the heck did you rewire your brain to not be overwhelmed with the negativity?” one user asked.

    He responded: “just press delete :)”

    Asked whether he was asked to formally join the Taliban he said: “no, they didn’t like my sense of style”, adding that his only friend “was a spider called peter”.

    Some details remain confusing, such as when he was asked if he ever thought of trying to run away from his kidnappers. He responded: “only in my dreams which was good enough.”

    Taseer also recalled phoning his mother from the restaurant he was recovered from in southwest Balochistan province earlier this month.

    He wrote: “i said ‘hey ami i ran away btw the mountain dew is great at saleem hotel kuchlak baluchistan’ she said ‘whose this?’”

    Many of the questions centred around how life had changed during his half decade away from civilisation.

    Earlier in the week he joked that his wife had compared him to Nicholas Brody, the character played by actor Damien Lewis in US drama “Homeland” — a US Marine turned would-be terrorist after eight years in captivity.

    It was a powerful respite to the grim news many Pakistanis have grown accustomed to in the country’s more than decade-long fight against an Islamist insurgency, including Sunday’s bombing of a park in Lahore targeting Christians celebrating Easter that killed dozens of children.

    Pakistani users have responded warmly.

  • MYSTERIOUS PLANET IS TO BLAME FOR MASS EXTINCTIONS OF LIFE ON EARTH: SCIENTIST

    MYSTERIOUS PLANET IS TO BLAME FOR MASS EXTINCTIONS OF LIFE ON EARTH: SCIENTIST

    A mysterious, hidden planet that could be sitting on the edge of our solar system might be linked with periodic extinctions on Earth, according to a researcher.

    The unconfirmed planet might trigger comet showers, bringing huge extinction events, according to a new paper by Daniel Whitmire, a retired astrophysics professor. The paper links the periodic extinction events that happen on Earth — which can be seen in the fossil record to wipe out huge parts of life on Earth about every 27 million years — with the unknown Planet 9.

    Planet 9 has been said by some to exist for years. But in recent months two scientists claim to have found strong evidence that it exists — and one of those researchers said again recently that he had found further proof of the mysterious planet.

    If those researchers are correct, then Planet 9 would be 10 times as big as Earth and would be 1,000 times further from the Sun than we are.

    The mystery of the extinction events that happen every 27 million or so years is an equally long-investigated and mysterious problem. Nobody is really clear why the comets tend to arrive on such an apparently regular schedule —but potential other explanations include a companion star to our own sun or extra risk as we travel through the spiral arms of the Milky Way.

    But the new theory suggests that if the idea of the periodic extinctions is true, then it may be that the particular orbit of Planet 9 is to blame. It proposes that as the planet moves around the solar system, it passes through the Kuiper Belt — an area of the outer solar system full of icy objects — every 27 million years, knocking comets towards us and into the inner solar system.

    Once they arrive there, they can smash into the Earth and reduce the sunlight getting to us, potentially leading to the extinction events, the researchers claim.

  • Scientists create smallest ever viable genome

    Scientists create smallest ever viable genome

    WASHINGTON (TIP): American scientists have created in a lab the smallest viable genome existing in nature with just enough essential genes for an organism to function and reproduce on its own, in a major step toward unlocking the mysteries of how life is created.

    The synthetic genome of this bacteria, dubbed JCVI-syn3.0, only carries 473 genes, compared to about 20,000 for a human being.

    But lead researchers Craig Venter –the first to sequence the human genome — and Clyde Hutchinson and their colleagues have not yet determined the functions of 149 of the genes, about a third of the total.

    “Investigators’ first task is to probe the roles of those genes, which promise new insights into the basic biology of life,” said Chris Voigt, a synthetic biologist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology who did not participate in the research.

    But several potentially homologous genes have been found in other organisms, suggesting they encode universal proteins with functions that for now remain undetermined.

    Researchers used a design-build-test process to identify quasi-essential genes, which are required for robust growth but not for life. The study was published in Thursday’s edition of the journal Science.

    Through a series of experiments, they obtained a synthetic, reduced genome that was as small as possible because no more genes could be disrupted.

    “The only way to answer basic questions about life would be to get to a minimal genome,” Venter explained in a teleconference.

    “Probably the only way to do that would be to try to synthesize a genome.”

    This pursuit is what led the scientists to turn to Mycoplasma, bacteria with the smallest known genomes of cells that replicate autonomously.

    “If you know nothing about airplanes and you’re looking at (a Boeing) 777 and you’re just trying to find out functions of parts by removing them, and you remove the engine from the right wing, the airplane can still fly and land,” Venter explained.

    “So you might say that’s a nonessential component and you don’t really discover the essentiality until you remove the second one.

    “And that’s what’s happened over and over again in biology where we would have what appeared to be a non-essential component until we removed its counterpart.”

  • A single shot, long-term male contraception soon

    A single shot, long-term male contraception soon

    WASHINGTON (TIP): A new male contraceptive injection may provide rapid, durable and potentially reversible birth control for about a year without the need for condoms, a new study has claimed, ahead of its first human clinical trial this year.

    Men currently have few options for re productive control, including condoms and vasectomy. The new study in rabbits has con firmed that Vasalgel has the potential to fil the gap. It consists of styrene-alt-maleic acid (SMA) dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide and could be the first long-acting, non-hormonal male contraceptive to reach market.

    “Vasalgel produces a very rapid contra ceptive effect which lasted throughou the study due to its unique hydrogel proper ties,” said Dr Donald Waller, professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Univer sity of Illinois . After the gel was injected into the vas de ferens of 12 rabbits, semen analysis showed that 11 rabbits were azoospermic in all sam ples, having no quantifiable sperm in their semen at all.

  • DIABETES PILLS UP RISK OF BLADDER CANCER

    DIABETES PILLS UP RISK OF BLADDER CANCER

    LONDON (TIP): According to a new study, a drug used in the treatment of diabetes can increase bladder cancer risk. What’s worse is that the risk increases with the rising duration of use and dose.

    Pioglitazone belongs to a class of drugs called thiazolidinediones and helps to control blood sugar levels in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, the findings of the study revealed that taking the drug increases risk of bladder cancer by 63 percent.

    The researchers wanted to assess the drug after a number of bladder cancer cases were identified among people taking the drug in a trial in 2005. Since then different studies have reported contradictory findings on the subject.Canadian-based researchers examined the use of pioglitazone with other anti-diabetic drugs and found an increased association of risk of bladder cancer in patients with type 2 diabetes.

    The team analysed data for 145,806 patients from Britain’s Clinical Practice Research Database (CPRD), who were newly treated with diabetes drugs between 2000 and 2013.

    Potential influential factors such as age, sex, duration of diabetes, smoking status and alcohol-related disorders, were also taken into account. In contrast, the use of rosiglitazone was not associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer in any analysis, suggesting the risk is drug-specific and not a class effect, the researchers maintained in the study published in the journal The BMJ.

    In another large cohort study, the experts from University of Nottingham in Britain found clinically important differences between different drugs (alone and in combination) and risk of five key outcomes – blindness, amputation, severe kidney failure, high blood sugar (hyperglycaemia) and low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia) events.

    The results may have implications for prescribing, and suggest doctors and patients should be aware when assessing the overall risks and benefits of diabetes drugs, the researchers pointed out. Though the risk of bladder cancer remains low, in absolute terms, the authors suggested that the doctors and patients should be aware of this association when assessing the overall risks and benefits of this therapy. Working closely with their clinicians, “patients can identify the agent that is best for them given their context, both clinical and personal,” suggested Victor Montori, professor at Mayo Clinic in the US in an accompanying editorial.