CAIRO (TIP): An EgyptAir flight from Paris to Cairo with 66 passengers and crew on board crashed in the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek island of Crete early May 19 morning, Egyptian and Greek officials said.
Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said it was too early to say whether a technical problem or a terror attack caused the plane to crash. “We cannot rule anything out,” he told reporters at Cairo airport.
EgyptAir Flight 804 was lost from radar at around 2:45am local time when it was flying at 37,000 feet, according to the airline. It said the Airbus A320 vanished 10 miles (16 kilometers) after it entered Egyptian airspace, around 280 kilometers (175 miles) off Egypt’s coastline north of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Egyptian aviation officials said the plane crashed and that a search for debris was now underway.
The “possibility that the plane crashed has been confirmed,” as the plane hasn’t landed in any of the nearby airports, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Konstantinos Lintzerakos, director of Greece Civil Aviation Authority, gave a roughly similar account to that given by EgyptAir. In comments to the private Antenna television, he said Greek air traffic controllers were in contact with the pilot who reported no problems as the aircraft cruised at 37,000 feet, traveling at 519 mph (830 kilometers per hour).
The controllers tried to make contact with the pilot 10 miles (16 kilometers) before the plane exited the Greek Flight Information Region, or FIR. The pilot did not respond, he said, and they continued to try to speak to him until 3:29 am local time (2:29 a.m. Egyptian time) when the plane disappeared from the radar inside Egypt’s FIR, 11 kilometers (7 miles) southeast of the island of Crete.
Egypt’s state-run newspaper Al-Ahram quoted an airport official as saying the pilot did not send a distress call, and that last contact with the plane was made 10 minutes before it disappeared from radar. It did not identify the official.
Egyptian military aircraft and navy ships were taking part in a search operation off Egypt’s Mediterranean coast to locate the debris of the plane, which was carrying 56 passengers, including one child and two babies, and 10 crew members. The pilot had more than 6,000 flight hours.
Greece also joined the search and rescue operation, officials at the Hellenic National Defense General Staff said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault offered to send military planes and boats to join the Egyptian search for wreckage.
“We are at the disposition of the Egyptian authorities with our military capacities, with our planes, our boats to help in the search for this plane,” he said. He spoke after French President Francois Hollande held an emergency meeting at the Elysee Palace. (AP)
BENGALURU: The crorepati club at Infosys is getting bigger. As many as 49 senior executives drew over Rs 1 crore in compensation in the 2015-16 financial year, up from 18 two years back. Last year was an aberration when 113 crashed past the crore mark due to a one-off, high-incentive payout.
The increase in the number of VPs and SVPs entering the Rs 1-crore roster last fiscal explains the company’s attempt to bridge the pay gap with competitors and stem attrition in a fierce war for talent. The top-level pay spike also reflects Infosys’ efforts to align salaries with the market at a time when the company is on course to return to industry-leading growth rates under CEO Vishal Sikka.
Sikka himself has raked in $7.45 million in the 2015-16 financial year that includes a variable pay of $4.33 million and RSUs (restricted stock units) granted to him that’s valued at $2 million. However, this has put the spotlight on the ratio of Sikka’s compensation to the median remuneration of employee that stood at 935.
Infosys COO Pravin Rao took home $1.4 million in annual compensation, while CFO MD Ranganath raked in $539,141 for the year. “We are in a global market, and competition for talent is intense. Therefore, it doesn’t surprise me Indian companies are now paying their executives according to their global market value,” said Dan Marcec, director
(content & marketing communications) in US-based Equilar that provides data on executive compensation. “The safeguard for companies, of course, is the idea of pay tied to performance. They are providing incentives so that executive pay reflects the CEO’s personal interest as well as that of the company.”
Harish V, partner in consultancy firm Grant Thornton, believes the performance metrics have changed significantly with individual contributors getting their fair share of rewards. However, in Infy’s case, the actual number of crorepatis could be higher than what’s mentioned in the annual report as its CEO has roped in top-notch executives from Palo Alto in the US from where he works. The Companies Act obliges firms to disclose the compensation details of every employee based in India drawing over Rs 60 lakh.
Sikka has successfully reversed Infosys’ once-listless performance with a sharper positioning to clients, amplifying the people-plus-software approach by moving away from a headcount-linked model. This includes a base salary of $1 million, $3 million in variable pay, $2 million in restricted stock units (RSUs) and another $5 million in stock options, which would be awarded to him based on Infosys’ performance.
NEW DELHI (TIP): Soon after her emphatic return to power in West Bengal, CM Mamata Banerjee renewed talk of a third front by listing her non-BJP and non-Congress friends that “she could do business with”.
“I have friends such as Nitish Kumar, Arvind Kejriwal, Naveen Patnaik, Mayawati, Jayalalithaa and some others. I would sit and talk to them,” the TMC chief said, drawing positive, as well as muted and disinterested responses from key regional players. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said there was need for fresh alignment of political forces. “As Mamata-ji said, all like-minded parties should join hands like we did in Bihar.” His party spokesman K C Tyagi agreed, but also pointed out mutual differences among the third front. The Aam Aadmi Party said it was against any third-front idea. “There is undoubtedly a vacuum in terms of a worthy opposition to the BJP but we are not interested in joining hands with other parties,” said a party spokesman.
Naveen Patnaik-led BJD in Odisha said a federal front of regional parties was a necessity, while BSP’s Ram Achal Rajbhar sounded dismissive, “The BSP will contest UP assembly polls on its own and win with absolute majority.”
Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agarwal did not clearly support Mamata but said in 2019 it would be a coalition of regional parties that would come to power at the Centre.
In a series of tweets, actor Rishi Kapoor has attacked the practice of naming all the major assets of the country after Gandhi family members during the Congress rule.
The 63-year-old veteran actor, who had in the recent past, been critical of the Saffron forces on issues like intolerance, picked on the Congress for his blast this time.
We must name important assets of the country who have contributed to society. Har cheez Gandhi ke naam? I don’t agree. Sochna log!
Kapoor said the names of prominent places should be named after those who worked for the welfare of the country.
“Change Gandhi family assets named by Congress. Bandra/Worli Sea Link to Lata Mangeshkar or JRD Tata link road. Baap ka maal samjh rakha tha? (Did they consider it family property?)
“If roads in Delhi can be changed why not Congress assets/property ke naam? Was in Chandigarh wahan bhi Rajeev Gandhi assets? Socho? Why? (sic),” the actor tweeted.
The “Kapoor and Sons” star said people from the film industry should also have buildings named after them.
“We must name important assets of the country who have contributed to society. Har cheez Gandhi ke naam? I don’t agree. Sochna log!
“Film City should be named Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Ashok Kumar ya Amitabh Bachchan ke naam? Rajeev Gandhi udyog Kya hota hai? Socho doston!” he said.
Kapoor said even Delhi’s international airport should be named after personalities like Bhagat Singh or Bhimrao Ambedkar.
“Why Indira G airport International ? Why not Mahatma Gandhi or Bhagat Singh Ambedkar or on my name Rishi Kapoor. As superficial! What say?” he tweeted.
The actor said his father, legendary actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor, has done more good to the country than any politician.
“Raj Kapoor has made India proud over the years all over even after his death. Certainly more than what has been perceived by politics (sic),” he wrote.
Actor Anupam Kher said Kapoor’s tweets are genuine thought.
“Rishi Kapoorji has thought about it and I am sure a lot of people think about a lot of things that they put on social networking sites. It’s genuine thought. It is not necessarily against the particular family,” Kher said, adding that the achievements of other people should also be lauded.
“Salutes to @chintskap for speaking the truth. The #Nehruisation of this country has to go. There is no different. between them & the Britishers,” said filmmaker and censor board member Ashoke Pandit.
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan says Apple CEO Tim Cook, whom he hosted to a dinner at his residence here on Wednesday, is a “rockstar”.
Shah Rukh, one of Hindi cinema’s top-rated and globally most popular actors, welcomed Cook and his team for dinner on Wednesday night. Bollywood’s famed Bachchan family, apart from stars like Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit Nene were in attendance too.
Thk u all for coming & making @tim_cook & his wonderful team feel the warmth & love of India.Mr.Cook u r a rockstar! pic.twitter.com/e7HdJUZ0Hp
Expressing gratitude to them all, the tech-savvy actor tweeted: “Thank you all for coming and making Tim Cook and his wonderful team feel the warmth and love of India. Mr. Cook you are a rockstar!”
“Thank you Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya and Jaya aunty for taking time out. ‘Sarbjit’ will be awesome I am sure,” he added, making a reference to Aishwarya’s forthcoming film.
Aamir, who attended the dinner party without his wife Kiran Rao, brought in some toys for Shah Rukh’s two-year-old son AbRam.
Thanking him, SRK tweeted: “Aamir Khan, thank you for the toys. AbRam is still awake and playing with them.”
Cook is in India on his first official visit to the country.
He first went to Bengaluru, the home of India’s startup scene, and then in Mumbai, he visited the famed Shree Siddhivinayak temple.
During his Delhi visit, Cook has plans to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Shah Rukh took to Twitter to thank all his guests for making Cook and his team feel the love and warmth of the country.
The much awaited and talked about movie ‘xXx: The Return of Xander Cage’ finally revealed its first promo after teasing audiences for the longest with inside pictures and videos.
Let’s enjoy this preview trailer with Vin Diesel, Nina Dobrev, Ruby Rose, Scarlett Johansson and Jason Statham, Jet Li, Tony Jaa, Deepika Padukone, Conor McGregor.
The actress, who was last seen in the Sanjay Leela Bhansali movie ‘Bajirao Mastani’ has been religiously working out to fit into the role. Deepika will be essaying the role Serena, a fierce huntress in the film.
XXX: The Return of Xander Cage is an action film and is directed by D. J. Caruso, the movie set to release in 2017.
The plot of the movie is about some Extreme athlete who turned government operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) comes out of self-imposed exile, thought to be long dead, and is set on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior Xiang (Donnie Yen) and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora’s Box.
The third explosive chapter of the blockbuster franchise that redefined the spy thriller finds extreme athlete turned government operative Xander Cage (Vin Diesel) coming out of self-imposed exile and on a collision course with deadly alpha warrior Xiang and his team in a race to recover a sinister and seemingly unstoppable weapon known as Pandora’s Box.
Indian-American politician Swati Dandekar (@Swati_Dandekar) has been nominated by the US Senate to the post of Executive Director to the Asian Development Bank which has ambassadorial rank.
The first-ever Indian-American to be elected to Iowa House of Representatives in 2003, Ms Dandekar, would replace Robert M Orr, who has held this position since 2010.
Ms Dandekar, 65, was also the first Indian-born American citizen to win a state legislature seat in the United States. Obama had nominated Ms Dandekar to the top US position in Asian Development Bank (ADB) in November last year. A member of the Iowa House of Representatives for from 2003 to 2009, Ms Dandekar was also member of the Iowa Senate from 2009 to 2011.
Thereafter she served on the Iowa Utilities Board from 2011 to 2013. From 2000 to 2003, she was a member of the Vision Iowa Board of Directors.
Ms Dandekar also served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Education from 1996 to 2002 and was a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 2000 to 2002. Ms Dandekar received a BS from Nagpur University and a Post-Graduate Diploma from Bombay University.
Married to Arvind Dandekar, in 2014 she tried to run for the US House of Representatives from Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, but lost in the primaries.
Ms Dandekar and her husband Arvind migrated to the United States in 1973. Arvind Dandekar is the CEO and president of Fastek International, located in Hiawatha, Iowa.
The US Senate has confirmed the nomination of Deven J Parekh (@djparekh), Indian-American by President Barack Obama to the board of directors of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
Nominated by the US President Barack Obama in August 2014, Mr Parekh is currently a managing director at Insight Venture Partners, a position he has held since 2001.
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) is the US government’s development finance institution. It mobilises private capital to help solve critical development challenges and, in doing so, advances US foreign policy.
A major fund raiser for Mr Obama’s presidential campaigns, Mr Parekh held a number of roles at Berenson Minella & Company between 1992 and 2000, including Principal and Vice President. Previously, from 1991 to 1992, he was a financial analyst for the Blackstone Group.
He has served as a Member of the Technological Advisory Council of the Federal Communications Commission since 2011. He is a Member of the Board of Publicolor, which he chaired from 2007 to 2012.
Mr Parekh is Treasurer and Member of the Board of Governors of the National Academy Museum, a Member of the Board of the Tisch MS Research Center of New York, and a Member of the Greater NY Partnership.
He is also a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of New York.
From 2010 to 2012, he was a Member of the Advisory Board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. In 2006, he was named a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Mr Parekh received a BS from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Actress Madhuri Dixit Nene (@MadhuriDixit), who was one of the guests at superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s dinner held for Tim Cook, says it was a “pleasure” meeting the Apple CEO.
“It was a pleasure meeting Tim Cook and the Apple team at Shah Rukh Khan’s house yesterday. Loved seeing everyone!” Madhuri tweeted on Thursday.
It was a pleasure meeting Tim Cook and the Apple team at @iamsrk ‘s house yesterday. Loved seeing everyone! pic.twitter.com/Aco8aLsddB
The actress also shared a photograph of herself along with husband Shriram Nene and Cook.
However, some actors like Neha Dhupia missed being at the star-studded event.
ALSO READ: Shah Rukh Khan Calls Tim Cook ‘Rockstar’
“Just happy to know that I was in the same zip code as Tim Cook… As for the rest, hopefully will get to meet (Cook) in this lifetime!” Neha tweeted on Thursday.
Held at Shah Rukh’s home ‘Mannat’ here on Wednesday, the dinner party also was attended by Bollywood’s biggest stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Aamir Khan, among others.
Cook is in India on his first official visit to the country. On Wednesday, he announced that the tech giant would establish a Design and Development Accelerator facility in Bengaluru, the home of India’s startup scene.
He also took out time to visit the famed Shree Siddhivinayak temple here. There is also news that Cook plans to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday during his Delhi visit.
NEW DELHI – In a key development, U.S. tech giant Apple is all set to hire Rajiv Mishra, currently vice president of media and corporate social responsibility division at Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, as its India head of media and public affairs.
Mishra confirmed the development to IANS on May 18.
The move is significant, as it comes when Apple CEO Tim Cook is in India on a four-day visit and is slated to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week.
The move is also crucial as with Mishra’s over 22-year expertise, Apple will be better positioned to disseminate information to its various stakeholders and cement its position in the Indian market.
Mishra joined Samsung in August 2014. At Samsung, Mishra is responsible for overseeing the entire media mandate for the organization across the country.
He had worked for various media organizations like Hindustan Times Group, Star TV, Zee TV, Reliance Infocomm Limited, News 24 (BAG Films and Media) and India News, among others.
Mishra also worked with Lok Sabha TV as CEO and has been a nominated member of various media advisory bodies in various ministries.
He is founder of the Electronic Media Rating Council of India and his contribution in television ratings methodology in Europe has been recognized by International Telecommunication Union and European Broadcasting Union at Geneva.
Rajiv Mishra is also the founder and first president of Association of Radio Operators for India and also the first president of Association of Regional Television Broadcasters of India (ARTBI), the industry representative body of regional Broadcasters of India. He has recently been nominated as member, expert committee of Information & Broadcasting Ministry to develop papers on copyright issues.
A master’s in broadcasting from IAB, Montreux, Switzerland, he earned MBA in media management from Metropolitan College of New York in the US.
Apple is reported to be looking for new growth markets like India following decline in sales.
Hit by slower growth in the sale of its flagship products iPhone, iPad and Mac globally, Apple’s revenue dropped for the first time since 2003 as the tech giant released earning reports for the second quarter of fiscal 2016 in March.
Revenue was down in both Americas and China – Apple’s two biggest territories. It declined around 10 percent in the Americas and 26 percent in China.
According to Vishal Tripathi, research director at global market consultancy firm Gartner, Cook may raise the issue of allowing Apple to import and sell refurbished iPhones at a cheaper price in India during his talk with Modi. This will give Apple a slot in the mid and low-price segment.
Apple’s manufacturing partner Foxconn is already present here and is looking to set up a manufacturing base in the country.
US President Barack Obama has appointed an Indian-American engineer to a key administration post, the White House said.
Manjit Singh, (Twitter – @supermanjit) co-founder of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund has been appointed as the member of President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
The announcement came along with several other appointments made by the US President yesterday.
“These fine public servants bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their important roles. I look forward to working with them,” President Obama said in a statement.
President of Agilious, a software technology consulting firm he founded in 2013, Mr Singh is also the co-founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a national Sikh American media, policy and education organization.
He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Guru Gobind Singh Foundation and also as a Member-at-Large of The Board of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan in Washington.
Mr Singh received a Master of Science degree from the State University of New York at Albany and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Bombay in India.
WASHINGTON: Indian American Neera Tanden (@neeratanden) on Wednesday, May 11, led the Hillary Clinton campaign in slamming the economic policies of Donald Trump, Republican presidential presumptive nominee, and alleging that this poses threat to the economic future of women and families.
“Make no mistake: Trump’s divisive comments about women’s health are a direct threat to our dignity and economic security,” said Ms Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
“Trump is now trying to cover up the bald spots in his economic plan but women can see for themselves and women can see through his comb over,” said Ms Tanden who was joined by Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland.
The two said that the trillions in tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires and corporations laid out in Trump’s tax plan would be an enormous boon for the top one per cent of earners, made at the expense of working families, seniors and the health of the economy.
Trump’s plan would give USD 3 trillion over 10 years or more than 35 per cent of its tax breaks to millionaires, enough money to ensure Medicare and Social Security’s solvency for the next 75 years, repair the ailing infrastructure, or raise every person now living in poverty up to the poverty line.
Trump would give multi-millionaires in the top 0.1 per cent like himself a raise of USD 1.3 million a year, or USD 100,000 a month.
Ms Tanden alleged Trump’s ideas are not the only risk his presidency would pose for the economic future of women and families around this country.
“His tax plan gives USD 3 trillion to millionaires, that’s enough to make Social Security and Medicare solvent for 75 years. Women, who rely disproportionately on Social Security, can’t afford such an irresponsible giveaway,” Ms Tanden said.
Ms Tanden and Mikulski said Trump still opposes raising the minimum wage because he believes “wages are too high” and recently said he doesn’t favor a federal floor for the minimum wage, which could leave many workers subject to a lower minimum wage.
At a time when two-thirds of minimum wage workers are women, this issue is critical to working families, they said. “I’m with Hillary because I know that she’s the only candidate who will make fighting for women and families her priority,” Mikulski said.
A transgender woman will join representatives from the Sikh and Baha’i communities as new advisers to President Obama on faith-based issues.
The White House announced the additions to the President’s third and final advisory council on faith-based and neighbourhood partnerships last week.
Barbara Satin is the assistant faith work director for the National LGBTQ Task Force and a member of the United Church of Christ (UCC). She was the first openly transgender member of the UCC’s executive council and has served on the board of a number of other LGBT community groups.
Of her appointment, Satin said: “Given the current political climate, I believe it’s important that a voice of faith representing the transgender and gender non-conforming community — as well as a person of my years, nearly 82 — be present and heard in these vital conversations.”
The other appointments included Naseem Kourosh, human rights officer at the US Baha’i office of public affairs and Manjit Singh, co-founder and chairman of the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund.
Along with a number of other appointments, Obama said Satin, Kourosh and Singh were “fine public servants” and would bring “depth of experience and tremendous dedication” to their roles.
“I look forward to working with them,” he said.
The President’s advisory council is charged with making policy recommendations to the administration as well as suggesting improvements and best practices for services that relate to faith-based groups. The council currently has fifteen members, most of whom are Christian.
Pictures of London’s first Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan’s visit to one of the city’s most famous temples where he performed rituals ahead of his election have gone viral on social media.
Pictures from the temple visit emerged on social media this week as Khan described the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in north London’s Neasden as one of his favourites.
“Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden is one of my favourite places in London,” the 45-year-old had said on his Facebook post dated May 3, days before his runaway victory in the mayoral elections.
“As Mayor, I will stand up for London’s Indian community, and strengthen London’s friendship with India. I look forward to leading a trade delegation to India at the earliest opportunity,” Khan said.
In one of the pictures, Khan, who is son of a Pakistani migrant bus driver, is seen performing “Jalabhishek” or water ritual on a golden idol of Shri Swaminarayan.
The visit was a clear attempt on his part to stress his message of wanting to be a mayor for “all Londoners”.
“Let me be very clear, I’m not a Muslim leader or Muslims’ spokesperson, I’m the mayor of London. I speak for all Londoners,” the Labour party politician had told reporters soon after his victory.
The British capital’s first Muslim mayor, elected by an overwhelming mandate, has criticised British Prime Minister David Cameron’s government and his Conservative party mayoral campaign rival Zac Goldsmith for their divisive election campaign.
“David Cameron and Zac Goldsmith chose to set out to divide London’s communities in an attempt to win votes in some areas and suppress voters in other parts of the city,” Khan had written in The Observer, in his first article a day after being sworn in as the new mayor on May 9.
“They used fear and innuendo to try to turn different ethnic and religious groups against each other something straight out of the Donald Trump playbook. Londoners deserved better and I hope it’s something the Conservative party will never try to repeat,” he said.
Goldsmith’s camp has been criticised for using unpleasant tactics in the campaign, including trying to cash in on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity among Indian-origin Londoners by issuing leaflets with the message—“Standing up for the British-Indian community”.
Khan is reportedly planning a visit to India soon, in an attempt to counter this negative messaging and present his secular credentials.
Khan beat Goldsmith with 57 per cent votes—the largest mandate of any British politician in history—marking the return of Labour rule to the UK capital after eight years. He was officially sworn-in as the new mayor of London at a multi-faith ceremony in Southwark Cathedral here on May 7.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has put out a cyclone alert for Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
With the depression over south-west Bay of Bengal expected to move up further along the eastern coastline, the cyclone is expected to move north-northeastwards and intensify into a deep depression and further into a cyclonic storm over the next 48 hours.
According to the IMD, wind speed reaching 55-65 km per hour gusting to 75 km per hour would prevail along and off north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during the next 24 hours and south Andhra Pradesh coast during next 48 hours.
Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea as sea condition will be very rough during the next 48 hours.
Meanwhile the Tamil Nadu government has deputed senior officers to areas that may experience heavy rainfall to oversee precautionary measures.
Government had also said Chennai and neighbouring districts are expected to receive very heavy rainfall of more than 25 cm and Cuddalore, Villupuram, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam districts, more than 12 cms rainfall.
In Chennai, sewage lines have started overflowing in many areas due to the intermittent rains putting the residents into difficulty.
On Tuesday, May 17, Chennai airport recorded 11.5 cms of rainfall while Nungambakkam station recorded 12.7cms of rainfall. Storage levels in the city reservoirs have seen a slight rise as Poondy recorded 902 mcft on Tuesday. Levels at Cholavaram, Red Hills and Chembarambakkam were recorded at 84 mcft, 1671 mcft and 2374mcft respectively.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of global tech giant Tim Cook kick-started his India trip with a visit to Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple.
According to a report in the Indian Express, Cook visited the temple in the early hours of Wednesday along with the Apple India head Sanjay Kaul. He also met Anant Ambani, son of Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani, at the temple.
Cook is also expected to meet Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry during the day.
On May 19, the Apple CEO is likely to inaugrate Apple’s development centre in Hyderabad.
He is also expected to meet Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who is trying to attract big ticket investments for his state.
Cook is also expected to travel to Bengaluru, where he will establish a new app design and development accelerator facility.
From Bengaluru, he is likely to travel to Delhi, where he is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
In Delhi, after greeting employees at the Apple’s corporate office at One Horizon Centre in Gurgaon, he is expected to visit iZen Store (Apple authorised reseller) in Green Park and the iWorld Store (Apple premium store) in Ambience Mall in Vasant Kunj,” an Apple source told IANS.
The Apple CEO is here after visiting China, where Apple announced a $1 billion investment in the local ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing.
In its effort to have a full-fledged multi-layer Ballistic Missile Defence system, India on Wednesday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile, capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile, from a test range off Odisha coast.
Notably, Prithvi is India’s first indigenously-built ballistic missile. It is one of the five missiles being developed under the country’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.
With a strike range of 350 km, the surface-to-surface Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines.
The success of Advanced Air Defence interceptor missile test now strengthens India’s position in the very exclusive Ballistic Missile Defence club of the US, Russia and Israel.
A 65-year-old Indian American scientist will receive the prestigious ‘National Medal of Science’ award from US President Barack Obama this week, the White House has said.
Rakesh K Jain, is a prominent member of the Harvard Medical School faculty has been recognized with the nation’s highest honor for achievement and leadership in advancing science.
Jain, a professor of tumor biology at Massachusetts General Hospital in the Harvard Medical School, will receive the award from Obama along with 16 other recipients of the ‘National Medals of Science and National Medals of Technology and Innovation’ on May 19.
The award function was initially scheduled for January 22 but was postponed due to a major snow storm.
Awarded annually, the Medal of Science recognises individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science, engineering and mathematics.
The National Medal of Technology and Innovation recognises those who have made lasting contributions to America’s competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen nation’s technological workforce.
“Science and technology are fundamental to solving some of our nation’s biggest challenges,” President Obama said in a statement released Dec. 22 announcing the awards. “The knowledge produced by these Americans today will carry our country’s legacy of innovation forward and continue to help countless others around the world. Their work is a testament to American ingenuity.”
Mr Jain, an IIT-Kanpur alumnus, has received numerous awards for his work on tumour biology, particularly research on the link between tumour blood vessels and improving the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
He received his B Tech degree from the IIT-Kanpur in Chemical Engineering in 1972.
The National Medal of Science was created by statute in 1959 and is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation.
A 15-year-old Indian-American boy has won the prestigious ‘Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award’ for developing a low-cost electronically-aided knee brace that allows a person with a weakened leg to walk more naturally.
Syamantak Payra, a Texas resident, won the USD 50,000 award along with 17-year-old Kathy Liu. The award was given by Intel Corporation and the Society for Science and the Public (SSP) at the 2016 ‘Intel International Science and Engineering Fair’ in Arizona last week.
“Our top winners this year – Syamantak and Kathy – clearly demonstrate that age has no bearing on your ability to conduct research and come up with solutions to important problems,” said Maya Ajmera, SSP president and chief executive.
“We congratulate them not only for their success, but on their dedication and hard work. They and the rest of the Intel ISEF finalists are the rising stars of STEM and we look forward to watching them pursue their passions and in turn make the world a better place for future generations,” Ms Ajmera said.
When Mr Payra tested his prototype with two individuals partially disabled by polio, it almost immediately restored a more natural gait and increased mobility, according to a statement.
“Intel congratulates this year’s winners and hopes that their work will inspire other young innovators to apply their curiosity and ingenuity to today’s global challenges,” Intel Foundation president and Intel Corporation vice president of human resources and director of corporate affairs Rosalind Hudnell said in a statement.
This year’s Intel International Science and Engineering Fair featured more than 1,700 young scientists selected from 419 affiliate fairs held in 77 countries.
A team of students from India also attended the event. Five Indian Americans also figured in the 22 “Best of Category” winners and each received a USD 5,000 prize.
These winners included Rajeev Jha (Hawaii) in the Behavioral and Social Sciences category, Marissa Sumathipala (Virginia) in the Cellular and Molecular Biology, Swetha Revanur (California) in Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Tiasha Joardar (Texas) in the Energy: Physical category and Prashant Godishala (Minnesota) in the Translational Medical Science.
Under the Intel and Indo-US Science & Technology Forum, three students won the award for a visit to India.
The future of our City depends on the success of young people today. But instead of being able to focus on their aspirations, many girls and women, particularly those of color, are battling challenges rooted in gender, sex and race discrimination. Poverty, sexual violence and poor health outcomes stand squarely in the way of their success. For young women from immigrant families, these challenges are complicated by immigration status and language barriers. This has to change.
One year ago, I announced the launch of the New York City Council’s Young Women’s Initiative (YWI), a planning process that brought advocates, policy experts and young women and girls themselves together to make recommendations on how we can improve the lives of young women and girls in New York City. The result of the YWI is a set of policy and budgetary recommendations to improve the lives of young women and girls in our City. The New York City Council is also allocating $10 million over two years to commitment to YWI, a figure that is being matched by philanthropic partners. Together, $20 million will be invested in the futures of our daughters and sisters, all of whom should have the opportunity to thrive.
The urgency is as great as statistics show. Black and Latina girls and young women are 25 percent more likely to live in poverty. According to a New York Women’s Foundation’s 2015 publication, more than 40 percent of Black and Latina girls in New York City – and comparable percentages of girls from several new immigrant communities – lack access to the support they need to finish high school. In fact, eighteen percent of the women ages 16 to 24 were out of school and out of work, compared to 12 percent of young women ages 12 to 24 who are not Black or Latina.
Studies show that youth who are not connected to employment opportunities early on will have a difficult time accessing a steady job in the future and, in turn, earn less in the span of their work life. This is why the Young Women’s Initiative recommends that the City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) become year-round program, reach all students who apply. YWI also recommends increasing the reach of workforce training organizations that offer hands-on training, and calls for more college counselors to help students transition to higher education.
Young women want to make healthy and smart choices about their future. Yet many don’t have ready access to information, counseling and health services to avoid teen pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections.
While unintended pregnancy among young people has declined overall in New York City, pregnancy rates among Black and Latina teens are four to seven times higher than rates among White and Asian American and Pacific Islander teens, with teen pregnancy rates highest in the Bronx. Devastating statistics also reveal that young Black women have the highest share of new HIV diagnoses among women in our City.
These critical healthcare needs must be dealt with now. YWI calls for an increase the number of School-Based Health Centers across the City’s middle schools and high schools, and to expand the scope of services those currently operating at middle schools to include confidential reproductive and sexual health care.
Young women have the right to opportunities, information and quality services. They equally have the right to a City that keeps them safe from sexual violence, prohibits discrimination in all forms and works to prevent contact with the criminal justice system. Young women should know that our City is on their side. We should be, and will be, nothing less than a City that elevates our girls.
PRESS RELEASE: New York State immigrants who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) deserve the opportunity to pursue their professional ambitions. Today the Board of Regents took an important step to ensure that DACA recipients can live their dreams. By providing a clear pathway for qualified DACA recipients to become teachers, pharmacists, doctors, nurses, and more, the Board of Regents has created positive change for New York State.
This rule is good for New York City: it will increase the number and diversity of people engaged in vital professions such as education and health care, and it will benefit our economy.
Many New York City immigrants may stand to benefit from this rule change, including nearly 18,000 DACA recipients who have completed at least some college, based on estimates by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs and New York City’s Center for Economic Opportunity from American Community Survey data.
Read the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, Department of Education, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development, and Young Men’s Initiative joint comment to the Board of Regents supporting this rule change, published last month: http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/immigrants/downloads/pdf/comment_bdofregentslicensing_final.pdf
BEIJING (TIP): The British media is riddled with “barbarians” who would benefit from a lesson in manners from China’s ancient civilisation, a state-run newspaper said May 12 after Queen Elizabeth II called some Chinese officials “very rude”.
In a rare diplomatic gaffe, the British monarch was caught on camera at a Buckingham Palace garden party making unguarded comments about a state visit last year by President Xi Jinping that drummed up billions in Chinese investment.
The remarks made headlines worldwide on Wednesday but initially they were largely censored in China, blacked out of BBC World transmissions, according to the British broadcaster.
The Global Times newspaper, which is close to China’s ruling Communist Party, blamed the British media for blowing the incident out of proportion and fawning over the footage as if it was “the most precious treasure”.
“The West in modern times has risen to the top and created a brilliant civilisation, but their media is full of reckless ‘gossip fiends’ who bare their fangs and brandish their claws and are very narcissistic, retaining the bad manners of ‘barbarians’,” it said in an editorial.
“As they experience constant exposure to the 5,000 years of continuous Eastern civilisation, we believe they will make progress” when it comes to manners, it added in the Chinese-language piece, which was not published in English.
London and Beijing have both proclaimed a new “golden era” of relations between the former imperial power — whose forces repeatedly invaded China in the 19th century — and the rising Asian giant, now the world’s second-largest economy.
Xi’s trip in October saw a clutch of contracts announced, which Cameron said were worth almost $58 billion. At the time the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official mouthpiece, breathlessly portraying the visit as the start of a beautiful friendship.
But in her recorded comments the Queen commiserated with a police commander for her “bad luck” in having to oversee security for Xi and his wife.
Members of the Chinese delegation “were very rude to the ambassador”, the monarch said, exclaiming: “Extraordinary!”
A columnist at Chinese website “Today’s Headlines” recalled visible mutual discomfort during the three-day sojourn, describing it as “thought-provoking awkwardness” and adding it “primarily arose out of cultural and political differences”.
On Chinese social media posters decried Britain’s lack of awareness and understanding of Chinese ways, noting “an arrogance which makes them feel they needn’t bother to learn”.
“Every country’s customs are different, OK – not all people must cater to you,” wrote a commenter on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo.
Others were ashamed. “We’re already embarrassed by talk about what our average people get up to abroad,” said one. “Being embarrassed by our officials abroad is even worse.”
The British monarch never expresses overtly political views in public and is known for her discretion, never granting an interview in her 64-year reign.
But her comments came as British Prime Minister David Cameron was recorded calling Nigeria and Afghanistan “possibly the two most corrupt countries in the world”, heaping scrutiny on the tete-a-tetes of British leadership.
“Even among Western countries, Britain is most frequently ‘caught with its pants down’ and ‘exposing itself’,” the Global Times editorial said.
But it added that it would be “unthinkable” for British authorities to have deliberately leaked the royal footage, as “if they had deliberately done so, that would have been truly crude and rude”. The paper shrugged off the Queen’s comments themselves as “not a big deal”, stating: “Chinese diplomats surely also scoff at British bureaucrats in private.” (AFP)
NEW YORK (TIP): A pre-mother’s day gift from son Paresh Shah emerged in the form of proud moment for mother Kokila Shah at ‘Business in Diversity’ award ceremony during her visit to New York.
Long Island Business News honored entrepreneurs from diverse background in their “Diversity in Business” awards category at Crest Hollow Country Club, Woodbury last Thursday.
These awards are designed to highlight the outstanding achievements of business leaders of diverse backgrounds.
Timothy Williams, Chairman, Nassau County Industrial DevelopmentAgency was the keynote speaker at this event, which was moderated by News 12 Long Island Reporter Virginia Huie.
Mrs. Shimul Shah, Kokila Shah (mother), Paresh Shah & Parul Shah
Indian American honoree from the financial field, Paresh Shah has been a member of prestigious Million Dollar Round Table for past 6 years including 2 years qualification to Court of the Table.
Interestingly, he graduated as a Chemical Engineer (honors graduate) from the prestigious Indian Instituteof Technology at Karagpur, India.
Paresh’s shift from Engineering to financial services is designed by circumstances. The untimely death ofhis father made him realize the importance of financial planning. He is passionate about the role ofa financial planner and considers it as an important track for the overall growth and happiness of individuals and families.
He and his wife Shimul Shah are active in many philanthropic activities and are active members of ‘Swadhyay Parivar’.
NEW YORK CITY (TIP): The third International Hindi Conference, Americas, that concluded on May 1st, 2016 at the Consulate General of India, New York, unanimously resolved to request the Government of India to support establish a ‘Hindi Center’ in USA.
Deputy Consul General Manoj Mohapatra was the chief guest on the concluding day
“There is a great need to establish an institution for promoting and standardizing Hindi teaching and learning similar to institutions, such as, Confucius Institute for Chinese, Goethe Institute for German, Alliance Francaise for French, Servantes Institute for Spanish”, said Dr. Gabriela Nik Ilieva, coordinator of the South Asian Language Programs at New York University and the Head of Academics Committee of the International Hindi Conference. Dr. Ilieva, who is developing Hindi teaching and learning materials and teacher training programs, based on the proficiency guidelines of the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages, proposed to collaborate with scholars and practitioners engaged in Teaching Hindi as a Second Language (THSL) in non-Hindi regions in India and outside of India in order to strengthen the field of Hindi pedagogy. She supported the proposal to hold an International conference at Vishakhapatnam in India in early 2017 in order to provide an international forum exclusively focused on THSL.
Padma Bhushan Dr. Laxmi Prasad Yarlagadda, who presided over the concluding event of the conference on May 1, proposed to hold an international conference in Vishakhapatnam in collaboration with Hindi Sangam Foundation, USA and Lok Nayak Foundation, Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Some participants with their certificates of recognition
Dr. Yarlagadda moved the resolution for requesting the Indian government to support establishing a Hindi Center in USA. The proposal was unanimously adopted by the conference in the presence of Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra, Deputy Consul General of India, who was the chief guest of the event.
“It is the priority of the Consulate General of India to support Hindi”, announced Dr. Manoj Kumar Mohapatra adding that the Consulate General of India will continue to extend its support for future Hindi events.
Dozens of Hindi scholars presented their research and vision on various topics related to the field of Hindi teaching in and outside of India during the three-day conference. Dr. Heinz Wessler, Hindi professor at University of Uppsala, Sweden, who delivered the key note speech at the inaugural event on April 29, emphasized the need for developing a framework for testing student’s proficiency. Dr. Wessler made a presentation on the increased presence of Hindi in the digital world and suggested innovative approaches for developing rich Hindi content on the Internet.
Delegates
Dr. Olga Kagan, Director of the National Heritage Language Resource Center initiated a discussion on the challenges of teaching Hindi as a heritage language in USA. She made suggestions for developing teaching strategies relevant and suitable for the 21st century learners’ interests, needs and goals. Dr. Surendra Gambhir, who taught Hindi for more than 36 years at the University of Pennsylvania, proposed a need-based model explaining heritage language maintenance.
Dr. Rakesh Ranjan of Columbia University presented an overview of the existing resources and suggested aligning them to create a pipeline of year-round opportunities for interested learners at the community, school and college level. Maura Collinge of the National Foreign Language Center, University of Maryland, presented the efforts of the federally funded STARTALK Initiative for K-16 students and teachers to promote quality- and standards-based Hindi teaching and learning. Several STARTALK Hindi program directors later on presented the unique features of their programs. Dr. Vijay Gamhir traced in her presentation the expanding contexts and changing approaches of the Hindi teaching field in the U.S.
An exquisite dance performance by students of Rimli Roy Photos -courtesy ParashChettri
A session held on the topic of local and global issues in Hindi literature, was moderated by Dr. Susham Bedi, recently honored by the President of India for her contribution to Hindi literature in the Indian Diaspora. Speakers from India made interesting presentations on Hindi language and literature in the Diaspora. Renowned author and former Hindi scholar Dr. Prem Janmejai, who taught Hindi in Trinidad, narrated the struggle of indentured laborers to raise their social status while in this process they lost their language in the new environment. Dr. Wessler offered an overview of the research on Dalit literature written in in Hindi. Dr. Jagannath Reddy of Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu and B. Hemlatha from Andhra University spoke about their experiences of teaching Hindi. A lively Kavi Sammelan (poets’ meeting), conducted by Dr. Bindeshwari Aggarwal, New York University, was also held on the second day of the conference.
Earlier, the Consul General of India in New York Ambassador Riva Ganguly Das inaugurated the 3-day conference on April 29. Speaking on the occasion, she appreciated the efforts of the organizers, particularly of the conference coordinator Ashok Ojha for organizing in a short time a conference at which a number of scholars from India are also participating, besides a large number of Hindi scholars, Hindi lovers and Hindi promotes.
Ambassador Das also referred to the efforts of MInistry of External Affairs at promoting Hindi. She said that realizing the importance of Hindi language, MEA has created an independent Hindi section which aims at training diplomats in the use of Hindi and ensures Hindi is given due place in the departmental communications.
Ambassador Das assured the organizers that the consulate will continue to extend all cooperation in promoting Hindi.
Deputy Consul General and Chief Guest on the concluding day Manoj Mohapatra is honored
Conference coordinator Ashok Ojha in his welcome address to the Consul General praised her for her support in organizing the conference. He said he was happy to acknowledge the great support Government of India and Ambassador Das have provided. He added that he was confident the Consulate would continue to provide the all out support for propagating and promoting Hindi.
Prof. Heinz W. Wessler, Institute for Linguistics and philology, Uppsala, Sweden delivered the keynote address. Prof. Wessler is born a German. He spoke on Hindi as a language of expression of diverse issues relating to culture, religion and politics.
Speaking in relatively chaste Hindi, given the fact that Hindi is an acquired language for him he said that media whether print or electronic has been helpful in promoting Hindi. He advocated use of common Hindi as spoken by the younger generation. He said there is nothing wrong if some foreign language words are spoken by a person expressing in Hindi. He referred to Munshi Prem Chand’s “Godaan” in which writing one comes across the language of common people. He gave details of a number Hindi publications in a number of countries. He also spoke of databases. The video presentation he gave was quite interesting.
Others who spoke on the occasion included Dr. Bejoy Mehta, chairman of board of trustees, Hindi Sangam Foundation; H. R. Shah, president of TV Asia & chairman of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan board of trustees.
Mrs. Purnima Desai, trustee of Hindi Sangam Foundation made a thanksgiving reference and said the organizers were moved to receive an overwhelming support for the International Hindi Conference.
A cultural performance was presented by students of Rimli Roy. Evergreen TV Asia anchor Vikas Nangia was a delight as master of ceremonies. The inaugural session was attended by more than 150 scholars, writers, Patrons and lovers of Hindi.
WASHINGTON (TIP): An Indian-American couple has been convicted on charges of H-1B visa fraud and will face up to 30 years imprisonment, the Department of Justice has said.
Raju Kosuri, 44, and his wife Smriti Jharia, 45, of Ashburn, along with four co-conspirators fraudulently applied for more than 800 illegal immigration benefits under the H-1B visa program.
The indictment alleges that Mr. Kosuri has set up a network of shell companies that he presents to immigration authorities as independent businesses in need of Indian workers, but which he in fact owns and controls.
It alleged that Mr. Kosuri and his co-conspirators use these entities to file petitions for non-existent job vacancies at Mr. Kosuri’s data center in Danville.
The visa fraud scheme involves the forgery of numerous individuals’ signatures on visa petitions and exhibits without their knowledge.
The indictment alleges that Mr. Kosuri has generated gross proceeds of at least US $20 million over the life of the scheme, the Justice Department said.
The indictment also alleged that Mr. Kosuri and Ms Jharia conspired with a consultant named Raimondo Piluso to defraud the Small Business Administration, by submitting fraudulent HUBZone applications.
Mr. Kosuri, Ms Jharia, and Mr. Piluso are alleged to have concealed the true location, ownership, and employees of a business called EcomNets Federal Solutions in order to obtain federal loan and contract preferences, from which they have generated US $150,000 in loan proceeds and five contract awards.
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