The Indian Panorama

Month: September 2016

  • World’s oldest man turns 113, readies for Bar Mitzvah

    World’s oldest man turns 113, readies for Bar Mitzvah

    JERUSALEM (TIP): The world’s oldest man turned 113 on sept 15 and the Holocaust survivor living in Israel readied for the Bar Mitzvah he was denied a century ago, his family said.

    Yisrael Kristal, an observant Jew from Zarnow in what is now Poland and currently living in the port city of Haifa, was born on September 15, 1903, three months before the Wright brothers’ first successful powered airplane flight.

    Guinness World Records in March recognized him as the world’s oldest man.

    While he turned 113 on Thursday under the Gregorian calendar, his family will celebrate the birthday at the end of September according to the Hebrew calendar, his daughter Shula Koperstoch told AFP.

    The festivities will include a Bar Mitzvah that will come 100 years late.

    The Bar Mitzvah is one of the most important ceremonies in the life of a Jew.

    Usually marked at 13 for boys and 12 or 13 for girls – a Bat Mitzvah in that case – it marks the transition into someone responsible for their actions.

    Kristal was unable to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah in 1916 because his mother had died three months earlier and his father was a soldier in the Russian army at the time of World War I.

    “My father is religious and has prayed every morning for 100 years, but he has never had his Bar Mitzvah,” his daughter said.

    Around 100 family members will attend, with the date and location being kept secret to avoid Kristal having to contend with a crush of journalists, she said.

    Asked about his health, Koperstoch said only: “He is ageing.” After World War I, Kristal moved to Lodz where he worked in the family confectionery factory, married and had two children.

    But his life was disrupted when the Jewish quarter of the city became a ghetto under Nazi occupation during World War II and Kristal was sent to the infamous Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

  • China launches second space station, Tiangong 2

    China launches second space station, Tiangong 2

    BEIJING (TIP): China has launched its  second space station in a sign of the growing sophistication of its military-backed program that intends to send a mission to Mars in the coming years.

    The Tiangong 2 was carried into space on Thursday night atop a Long March 7 rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the edge of the Gobi Desert in northern China.

    Plans call for the launch next month of the Shenzhou 11 spaceship with two astronauts to dock with the station and remain on board for a month. The station, whose name means “Heavenly Palace,” is considered a stepping stone to a mission to Mars by the end of the decade.

    The Tiangong 2 module will be used for “testing systems and processes for mid-term space stays and refueling,” and will house experiments in medicine and various space-related technologies.

    China’s first space station, Tiangong 1, was launched in September 2011 and officially went out of service earlier this year after having docked with three visiting spacecraft.

    China conducted its first crewed space mission in 2003, becoming only the third country after Russia and the US to do so, and has since staged a spacewalk and landed its Yutu rover on the moon. Administrators suggest a manned landing on the moon may also be in the program’s future.

    China was prevented from participating in the International Space Station, mainly due to US concerns over the security risks of involving the increasingly assertive Chinese military in the multinational effort.

    A source of enormous national pride, China’s space program plans a total of 20 missions this year at a time when the US and other countries’ programs are seeking new roles.

    China is also developing the Long March 5 heavier-lift rocket needed to launch other components of the Tiangong 2 and other massive payloads.

    China plans to land a rover on Mars by 2020, attempting to recreate the success of the US Viking 1 mission that landed a rover on the planet four decades ago.

  • Prince Charles in car crash with deer on Queen’s estate

    Prince Charles in car crash with deer on Queen’s estate

    LONDON (TIP): Britain’s Prince Charles was reportedly involved in a car crash with a deer on his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s estate in Scotland, a media report said on September 156.

    The 67-year-old heir to the throne was unhurt in the Balmoral estate incident, which took place in recent days, ‘Daily Mirror’ reported.

    While his Clarence House office has declined to comment on the incident, Charles is believed to have been driving an Audi A4 Allroad Estate when the accident happened.

    He wasn’t hurt but the vehicle was left so badly damaged that a specialist mechanic was despatched to the royal estate in the Highlands to repair it, the newspaper claims.

    “Red Deer are a hazard on the roads up here and most drivers have had a brush with them at some point. Charles is a careful driver but sometimes they dash out on the road and there’s little you can do. He’ll have got a hell of a fright,” the newspaper quoted a source as saying.

    Balmoral, the British monarch’s Scottish home where she usually spends the English summer, is playing host to a huge royal gathering this week.

    Charles was pictured recently enjoying a drive in his new Audi recently as well. His son, Prince William, and daughter-in-law Kate Middleton flew into Scotland last Thursday for a short holiday in the Scottish Highlands at the invitation of the Queen.

    They were accompanied by their two children, three-year-old Prince George and one-year-old Princess Charlotte, and followed a few hours later by Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton.

    On Saturday, Carole was spotted being driven around the estate by the Queen herself as the pair made their way back from a grouse shoot together.

    It came just a few hours after the Queen drove Kate to meet up with Prince William for a picnic lunch on the hills above Lake Muick.

  • Russia says Syria ceasefire broken 45 times in last 24 hours

    Russia says Syria ceasefire broken 45 times in last 24 hours

    MOSCOW (TIP): The Russian Defence Ministry said on Sept 15 it had recorded 45 violations of a ceasefire agreement in Syria in the last 24 hours.

    The ministry said Russian and Syrian forces had stopped bombing areas held by opposition forces but the United States was complicating efforts to fight terrorists in the country by not providing the exact locations of moderate opposition groups.

  • Airtel, Vodafone, Idea not allowing portability: Reliance Jio to TRAI

    Airtel, Vodafone, Idea not allowing portability: Reliance Jio to TRAI

    NEW DELHI (TIP): Reliance Jio has sought the industry watchdog’s intervention over the three main telecom operators — Airtel, Vodafone and Idea — refusing to allow porting of their subscribers to its own network, in an alleged disregard to licensing norms.

    “Reliance Jio Infocomm, vide letters dated September 2, 2016, sent individually to Bharti Airtel, Idea and Vodafone, who are the incumbent dominant operators, informing them that Reliance Jio would be commencing its services from September 5,” the company said in its letter.

    “In spite of being under legal and contractual obligation to port the numbers after a valid request is made, the incumbent dominant operators have rejected all the requests made for porting between Sep 5 to Sep 12,” said the letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    The letter said against 201 total requests made to the three operators — to Airtel the most, followed by Idea and then Vodafone — 161 of them have violated the contractual obligations and eight were subject to wrong coding, among other issues. None were successfully completed, it said, elaborating portability regulations.

    “Please note that these rejections are in addition to the rejection of mobile number portability request of 4,919 corporate mobile numbers issued to employees and members of Reliance Industries Group by Bharti Airtel in August 2016,” it said.“Reliance Jio sincerely requests that the TRAI take serious cognizance of this complaint and intervenes by taking strict action against incumbent dominant operators under the relevant provisions of the mobile number portability regulations and the unified licence,” it said.

  • Raymonds to downsize,cut close to 10,000 jobs in 3 years

    Raymonds to downsize,cut close to 10,000 jobs in 3 years

    CHENNAI (TIP): Apparel giant Raymonds to cut about 10,000 jobs in its manufacturing centres in the next three years, replacing them with robots and technology, said Sanjay Behl, CEO, Raymonds.

    Speaking at an event at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Behl said that the industry being manpower-intensive, Raymonds employs over 30,000 staff in their 16 manufacturing plants in the country. “Roughly 2,000 work in each plant. Through technological intervention we are looking to scale down the number of jobs to 20,000, through multiple initiatives in technology. One robot could replace around 100 workers. While it is happening in China at present, it will also happen in India,” he said. He added that a closely monitored team is working on this technology implementation models.

    Behl added that the company is looking to open a plant in Africa.

  • Moody’s places Reliance Communications’ Ba3 ratings under review for downgrade

    Moody’s places Reliance Communications’ Ba3 ratings under review for downgrade

    COIMBATORE (TIP): Moody’s Investors Service has placed under review for downgrade Reliance Communications’ (RCOM) Ba3 corporate family rating and senior secured rating following the announcement of its plan to merge its wireless business with Aircel and its results for the first quarter of 2016-17.

    RCOM and Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB), together the promoters of Aircel, a pan-India mobile operator, announced the signing of definitive documents for the combination of their Indian wireless businesses through a merger on Wednesday.

    RCOM and MCB will each hold a 50% stake in the merged entity (MergedCo), with equal representation on the board of directors and all committees. The new company will be managed by an independent professional team under the supervision of the board.

    The MergedCo will have the second largest spectrum portfolio and the fourth largest customer base and revenue market share among all telecom operators in India. The management of RCOM and MCB expect significant capital expenditure synergies from the merger.

    “While we view the combination of the wireless businesses positively, we will also need to re-evaluate the credit profile of RCOM in conjunction with the proposed organisational and financial restructuring, as the remaining business will be smaller in scale with—

    in our view—a weaker business risk profile,” said Annalisa Di Chiara, a Moody’s vice-president and senior credit

  • Volvo, Audi, Merc bet high on electric and hybrid cars

    Volvo, Audi, Merc bet high on electric and hybrid cars

    NEW DELHI (TIP): With regulation on pollution from automobiles getting stringent world over, carmakers finally moving towards electrics, but not in a hurry.

    Companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Volvo plan to start off with eco-friendly models of vehicles in their portfolio.

    On Wednesday, Swedish carmaker Volvo launched India’s first plug-in hybrid SUV, XC90 T8 Excellence. On full charge, the car can cruise for 40km without consuming a drop of fuel.

    “Delhi is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and so there is a need for a plug-in hybrid car,” said Tom von Bonsdorff, managing director of Volvo India.

    To be sure this not an all-electric vehicles. Volvo will continue to have internal combustion gasoline engines alongside battery linked engines, before India builds enough charging stations. The all-electric cars run for only 100-150km.

    Moreover, the technology is not cheap. And apart from the 7.5% rebate on value added tax in Delhi, the government does not give a subsidy on electric vehicles. In Europe, owing to subsidy, electric cars cost the same or even less than gasoline models. That’s another reason why electric technology will first come to luxury cars. The price of a mid-size sedan (with an average price of ?10 lakh) becomes costlier by nearly 50% with electric technology. The same differential is 6-12% of a luxury car’s value.

    “Next-generation technology is first introduced in high-end cars… Thereafter, the adoption happens faster in the mass market,” said Wilfried Aulbur, India head of consulting firm Roland Berger that is headquartered in Munich.

    Volvo aims to sell a million electrified cars by 2025. The Centre, too, aims to get everyone to buy an electric car by 2030.

    German luxury car brand Audi is looking at a whole range of electric vehicles for India. “Some strategic models will come first. But it is unlikely that all models will have an electric vehicle,” said Joe King, head of Audi India. “But a lot of work needs to be done before we finally bring in the cars.”

    Nissan, Japanese auto major, will launch the Xtrail in October. “Some countries in northern Europe and in some states in the US, electric cars are working well, because the governments are giving subsidy,” said Guillaume Sicard, president of Nissan India.

    Mercedes-Benz, which is also working on a portfolio of electric cars, too, is studying the market but is waiting for the infrastructure to come up.

    As far as King is concerned, “In the next 10 years, Audi’s electric car portfolio will grow rapidly,” he said.

  • High time to make #UNSC more Democratic & Representative: UN chief Ban Ki-moon

    High time to make #UNSC more Democratic & Representative: UN chief Ban Ki-moon

    UN chief Ban Ki-moon has said it is “high time” for the reform of Security Council for making it more “democratic and representative” as he appealed the member states to pay heed to the rapidly changing and “deteriorating” security challenges in the world.

    “When it comes to reform of the United Nations, particularly Security Council reform, I have been stating many times ? I dont know how many times, repeatedly ? that it is high time that the Security Council must be reformed and changed in a more democratic and representative way,” Ban told reporters here yesterday at a press conference ahead of the high-level General Assembly session that starts next week.

    “They have been meeting to negotiate this reform process for longer than two decades. Many proposals have been proposed, and they have been reviewed and discussed. Unfortunately, not a single issue has been able to see any convergence of opinions among the Member States,” he said.

    The UN Secretary General noted that each country and group brings their own proposals which have not been able to get the support from others.

    “So its important that the member states should look at this issue ? after a two-decades long consultation and negotiation process, its high time to discuss this matter,” Ban said.

    “As Im just about to leave my position, Im urging that they should reflect the voices and aspirations of the Member States and the rapidly changing, deteriorating security challenges of the international community really make it imperative that the Security Council should be changed,” he said.

    Ban said that the global challenges pertaining to refugees and migrants, climate change, and the war in Syria will be the major topics that will likely figure prominently in this years high-level week at the UN.

    “This years high-level week at the United Nations comes at a critical time,” Ban said, previewing activities that will take place at the annual session, when international attention is focused on the work underway at UN.

    World leaders are scheduled to address next weeks general debate and other events that will take place during the high-level segment of the General Assemblys 71st session.

    With the Secretary-Generals second five-year term expiring on December 31, this will be Bans last high-level week as the UN chief.

    Ban said he is pushing for the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change before the end of this year.

    The worlds two largest emitters, China and the US, recently joined the accord.

    “Now we need just 28 more countries, representing 16 per cent of global emissions, to cross the necessary threshold,” he said, drawing attention to the September 21 special event at which countries can deposit their ratification instruments with the Secretary-General.

  • Bhattacharya, Kochhar among most powerful women outside US

    Bhattacharya, Kochhar among most powerful women outside US

    New York, Sep 13 – Indias top women bankers, SBI chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, ICICI head Chanda Kochhar and Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma, are among the 50 most powerful women based outside the US, according to a list by Fortune which is topped by Banco Santanders boss Ana Botín.

    Bhattacharya, 60 is ranked second on the list, while Kochhar comes in on the fifth spot and Sharma on the 19th position in the Fortunes 50 Most Powerful Women International list, which has ranked the women based outside the US.

    Botín, Group Executive Chairman of Banco Santander, Eurozone?s largest bank by market value, repeats as No. 1, in a time of economic and political volatility for all. The 2016 list spans 19 countries.

    “Bhattacharyas profile has risen during her three-year tenure atop Indias largest bank,” Fortune said.

    SBI Chairperson Bhattacharya, who was widely speculated to succeed Raghuram Rajan as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, has continued her “high-profile battle with the banks bad loans, while courting overseas partners to invest in the stressed assets.

    In May, she also orchestrated SBIs merger with six other groups, a plan that, once complete, will result in one of largest lenders in Asia.

    “Though her term leading the bank is set to expire in October, most expect the government will extend her time so she can see the efforts through,” Fortune said.

    ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Kochhar, 54, is regarded even by rival bankers as a “visionary”, Fortune said.

    “After seven years at the helm of Indias largest private sector lender, with consolidated assets of USD 139 billion, she has overhauled the nation?s consumer retail business.

    “Though bad loans took a toll on income growth this year, Kochhar has engaged turnaround experts to help ditch those distressed assets,” Fortune said, highlighting her efforts to boost the banks digital growth and enable female employees to work from home for a year.

    Sharma, 57, has grown Axis from an underrepresented bank to the nations fastest growing private sector lender, with revenue up 15 per cent to USD 7.9 billion in 2015 and nearly 3000 branches across 1,800 cities and towns, Fortune said.

    “First quarter profit this year was hurt by a spike in bad loans, but Sharma deserves accolades for publicising a watch list she created to monitor four per cent of the banks potentially-troubled assets,” it said.

    Last week, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi was ranked second and was the only woman of Indian-origin in Fortunes list of the 50 most powerful women in the US, a compilation topped by General Motors CEO Mary Barra.

    The international power list also includes Singapore Telecommunications Group CEO Chua Sock Koong on the 4th spot, Walgreens Boots Alliance Co-COO Ornella Barra (10), chairwoman and co-founder of Chinese real estate developer Longfor Wu Yajun (26), CEO and President, GE China, General Electric Rachel Duan (35), Huawei Technologies Chairman Sun Yafang (38), President, International Markets, MasterCard Ann Cairns (44) and Coca-Cola Amatil Group Managing Director Alison Watkins (47).

     

  • India’s Telecom Industry set for a BIG change with JIO’s entry & RCom- Aircel Merger

    India’s Telecom Industry set for a BIG change with JIO’s entry & RCom- Aircel Merger

    Reliance Communications has finally announced its long-awaited merger with unlisted telecom operator Aircel. It is said to be one of the biggest mergers of the telecom sector.

    The pressure in the telecom sector has already intensified with new entrant Jio providing free voice calls for life and charging less for data than incumbents, now this merger is expected to embark on a wave of consolidation as smaller companies find it difficult to cope with high spectrum costs and an inability to provide nationwide services at a price that makes business sense.

    Here is how this merger will impact telecom Space:

    • This merger will create the fourth largest telco with a net worth of Rs 35,000 crore and asset base of Rs 65,000 crore.
    • It will have a customer base of about 194 million, including 110 million of RCom and 84 million of Aircel ranks.
    • It will overtake Idea Cellular Ltd in terms of subscription numbers although it will still lag in terms of revenue. An RCom press release says it will rank among the top three operators by revenues in 12 important circles.
    • The merged entity will have the second-largest spectrum holding in the country with 2G, 3G and 4G operations.
    • For consumers the merger really signals no discernable change in the near future. In fact, the arrival of Reliance Jio is a bigger factor which will impact the Indian telecom market besides consumer behaviour and pricing going forward.
    • The merger will enable RCom to prevent loss of GSM subscribers in markets where it could not renew its 900 MHz license. These include Assam, Bihar, and West Bengal.
    • It further signals that consolidation is gathering pace in the Indian telecom space, where with the launch of Reliance Jio has intensified competition.

    Reliance Jio, is not just planning to cater to 4G data on mobiles, but also expand to fibre-optic broadband for homes.

    The company has also laid more than 2.5 lakh kms of fibre-optic cables, covering 18,000 cities and over one lakh villages and has an initial end-to-end capacity to serve in excess of 100 million wireless broadband and 20 million Fibre-to-Home customers.

  • Sofia Vergara Tops Forbes’ ‘Highest Paid TV Actors’ 5 Years In A Row

    Sofia Vergara Tops Forbes’ ‘Highest Paid TV Actors’ 5 Years In A Row

    Famous Colombian-American actress, Sofia Vergara, who stars in the internationally hit TV series ‘Modern Family’, has been announced as the highest paid TV star by Forbes Magazine this year.

    Vergara, who joined the ensemble cast in 2009, has been the highest paid TV star five years in a row!

    Earning a whopping $43 million this year, Vergara is leaps over The Big Bang Theory’s Kaley Cuoco, the second highest paid actor, with an $18.5 million difference.

    Vergara’s account swelled up by 66% since last year, bagging a $14.5 million dollar increase in her pay.

    Vergara is also ahead of several male actors, including Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki, who earn almost the same as their co-star Cuoco.

    Here are the top 10 highest-paid actors according to Forbes:

    1. Sofia Vergara: $43,000,000 (2015 earnings: $28,500,000)
    2. Kaley Cuoco: $24,500,000 (2015 earnings: $28,500,000)
    3. Mindy Kaling: $15,000,000 (2015 earnings: $9,000,000)
    4. Mariska Hargitay: $14,500,000 (2015 earnings: $11,000,000)
    5. Ellen Pompeo: $14,500,000 (2015 earnings: $11,500,000)
    6. Kerry Washington: $13,500,000 (2015 earnings: $7,000,000
    7. Stana Katic: $12,000,000
    8. Priyanka Chopra: $11,000,000
    9. Julianna Margulies: $10,500,000 (2015 earnings: $10,500,000)
    10. Julie Bowen: $10,000,000 (2015 earnings: $12,000,000)
  • Indian Navy’s new destroyer #Mormugao: First Look

    Indian Navy’s new destroyer #Mormugao: First Look

    According the Navy, “These ships are among the most technologically advanced guided missile destroyers in the world, with state-of-the-art weapons / sensors package, advanced stealth features and a high degree of automation.”

    MUMBAI:  India’s latest destroyer, the Mormugao, is set to be launched for the first time on Saturday at Mumbai’s Mazgaon Docks. The ship will then be fitted out and inducted into the Navy two years later.

    The Mormugao is the second of a class of Project 15-B destroyers — slated to be the most advanced destroyers built in India. Four are being built at a cost of Rs. 29,700 crore.

    With displacement of 7,300 tonnes, the Mormugao spans 163 metres in length and is powered by 4 Ukrainian gas turbine engines to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots, approximately 56 km per hour.

    keys facts of INS Mormugao

    • Mormugao is the second ship of the Project 15B. It is going to be launched in Mumbai on September 17 by Navy Chief Admiral, Sunil Lanba.
    • Named after a Goan port, Mormugao is said to be one of the most advanced destroyer that the Indian Navy has had.
    • During launching ceremony the hull of the ship which is constructed on dry area is floated on water for the first time. It is a milestone event for any vessel.
    • Majority of the ship has been built in India. The navy aims to take the level of ‘indigenisation’ by the navy to 68 percent with this project.
    • Mormugao is a guided-missile destoyer, a kind of warship that can launch missiles whose trajectories can be modified during flight to attack mobile targets. It will also be stealthier than its predecessor in the 15B series of destroyers.
    • Vice Admiral G S Pabby said the launch of Mormugao was only a ‘stepping stone’ to even more shipbuilding. The Navy, he explained, has set itself the ‘challenging’ target of increasing its fleet size to 212 by 2027.
    • Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL) has been supplying the Navy with warships at the rate of one a year since 2010. INS vessels Shivalik, Satpura, Sahyadri, Kolkata, Kochi and Chennai have all been delivered.
    • Mormugao has Barak-8 long-range missiles, which have been jointly developed by Israel and India. For Vice Admiral G S Pabby, the new vessel adds “more teeth” to the Navy.
    • The first ship in the 15B class – INS Vishakapatnam – which was lauched in April last year. It is expected to be commissioned by the Navy in 2018
    • The Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had in 2011 had sanctioned four 15 B ships, and had earmarked ₹29,700 crores for the project.
    • The next ship in the ‘Vishakapatnam’ series is Paradip, the name of a coastal Gujarati city.
    • For the first time in its history, Mazagon Dock in 2015-16 achieved a value of production (VOP) above ₹4,000 crore with an operating profit of ₹218 crore.
    • MDL is also constructing six Scorpene class submarines for the Indian Navy under a transfer of technology from DCNS of France. The first boat in this class, Kalvari, will be commissioned into the fleet soon. The launch of the second boat is slated later this year.
  • China and Pakistan are ‘Passive Enablers’ of the North Korean nuclear program: US Experts

    China and Pakistan are ‘Passive Enablers’ of the North Korean nuclear program: US Experts

    US-based experts said that China and Pakistan are ‘passive enablers’ of the North Korean nuclear program and may face some secondary sanctions for violating UN approved sanction.

    Scott Snyder, senior fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations said that Chinese support has led North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un to believe that Beijing will vote for stability and not go so far as to threaten his regime security.

    “The right way to describe China’s role is that they actually have been a passive enabler by providing generalized support to the North Korean regime,” Scott said.

    Siegfried Hecker, former head of the Los Alamos National Laboratory concluded that North Korea may have a stockpile of sufficient fissile material for approximately 20 bombs by the end of this year and a capacity of adding approximately 7 per year.

    China has long been accused of not putting sufficient pressure on North Korea and not implementing UN sanctions by allowing movement of goods and money across its border, a claim it has denied.

    Experts believe that China wants North Korea as a buffer between its border and US and its allies.

    “Why use the word accused, the evidence is pretty clear. China has agreed to do a lot of things that it hasn’t. A US news channel was filming cargo going back and forth on the North Korea-China border without any inspection. It is pretty clear that North Korean related organizations are operating in China,” says William Newcomb, Visiting Scholar at the United States Korea Institute in Washington DC and former UNSC panel member who helped impose sanctions on North Korea.

    He believes that the Chinese are making a strategic blunder by confusing status quo with stability especially as North Korea is “90% a failed state” and the Chinese leadership is in effect implying that the “Chinese military will not be able to protect Chinese borders if North Korea collapses.”

    North Korea carried out its fifth nuclear test last Friday, its second in less than a year. Experts have concluded that the underground explosion was stronger than the previous four triggering a magnitude 5.3 seismic event. The test was condemned by the international community and has led to increased tensions in the region with both China and US trading blame for not working to restrict North Korea’s nuclear program.

    North Korea’s nuclear program is also known to have ties with Pakistan, which supplied it with schematics for nuclear weapons while the former is thought to have provided help on the Pakistan’s missile program.

    Egypt and Iran have also coordinated with North Korea in the past.

    The blatant violation of UN sanctions by some countries has raised the question of consequences for their actions.

    Newcomb believes that violators should not be allowed to get away and that the UNSC should find ways to make violators to pay a price for their actions.

    United States law requires the imposition of secondary sanction on entities that trade with North Korea. Here again, analysts believe that China can be a bigger target than Pakistan and Iran.

    “The most interesting case really is China because of the extent of trade. There are more potential targets for secondary sanctions located in China. I think that you couldn’t necessarily rule that possibility out,” says Snyder.

    According to him, Pakistan and Iran could also meet the threshold if the US intelligence community can come to a conclusion that there is sufficient linkages to warrant secondary sanction on entities from those countries. But the imposition of secondary sanctions after the current nuclear test will depend on US domestic politics especially given that the Obama administration is on its way out.

  • Kashmir Remains Paralyzed For 69th Consecutive Day

    Kashmir Remains Paralyzed For 69th Consecutive Day

    For 69th consecutive day and after violence has claimed over 80 lives in the Valley, life remained paralyzed.

    In view of the continuing protest in Srinagar, the authorities made heavy deployment of the security forces in the city today, Sep 15.

    A senior police official said: “Heavy deployments of police and paramilitary forces have been made in Srinagar and other district headquarters of the valley to maintain law and order today (Thursday)”.

    The separatists continued their protest shutdown because of which public transport, main markets and other businesses have remained shut.

    All schools, colleges and universities remained closed along with train services between Baramulla town and Jammu’s Bannihal town also suspended.

    Internet facilities since Monday was down in the Valley. Calling was only allowed on BSNL postpaid.

    All the separatists leaders were placed in the preventive detention in Srinagar.

    forces to restore traffic always resulted in clashes between them.

    A total of 86 persons were killed and 11,500 injured in the ongoing unrest that started on July 9 a day after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed.

    Blow to Mehbooba Mufti as PDP MP Tariq Hamid Karra resigns from party, Lok Sabha 

    Adding fuel to fire, senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and Lok Sabha member Tariq Hamid Karra on Thursday, Sep 15, resigned both from the party and the Parliament in a clear no confidence sign in the BJP-PDP alliance government in Jammy & Kashmir.

    Karra tendered his resignation citing the government’s failure to deal with the violence that engulfed the state following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani on July 8.

    “I have resigned from the primary membership of PDP and Parliament,” Karra was quoted as saying by the ANI.

    Karra, who served as the state’s Finance minister in the PDP government led by Mufti Mohammad Sayeed in 2002, was against the alliance between PDP and Bharatiya Janata Party in J&K.

  • Donald Trump’s investments in India could raise conflicts, If Elected US President: Report

    Donald Trump’s investments in India could raise conflicts, If Elected US President: Report

    Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s real estate investments in Indian cities including Pune and Gurgaon may impact US foreign policy in case he becomes the next President of the United States, according to a report in ‘Newsweek’.

    Giving details of Donald Trump’s overseas investments, the report says that the Trump organization had declared its plans for a massive expansion in India when the Republican National Convention was about to get underway in July this year.

    The report terms it a chilling example of the many looming conflicts of interest in a Trump presidency.

    “If he plays tough with India, will the government assume it has to clear the way for projects in that ‘aggressive pipeline’ and kill the investigations involving Trump’s Pune partners?

    “And if Trump takes a hard line with Pakistan, will it be for America’s strategic interests or to appease Indian government officials who might jeopardize his profits from Trump Towers Pune?” the weekly asked.

    According to the weekly, several Indian political leaders and major political parties have established close relationship with the Trump family as a result of its real estate investments in Pune and Gurgaon.

    In India, the conflicts between the interests of the Trump Organization and American foreign policy are starker, Newsweek said.

    Trump signed an agreement in 2011 with an Indian property developer that wanted to construct a 65-story building with his name on it.

    Leading the talks was a director of the company who would later become the exclusive representative of Trump’s businesses in India, the weekly said.

    However, government regulatory hurdles soon impeded the project, the cover story said, adding that Donald Trump Jr. flew to India to plead with authorities asking them to remove the hurdles.

    But state authorities in Maharashtra refused to make an exception for the Trump Organization, the report said.

    “It would be extremely difficult for a foreign politician to make that call if he were speaking to the son of the President of the United States,” Newsweek said.

    “Last month, scandal erupted over the development, called Trump Towers Pune, after the state government and local police started looking into discrepancies in the land records suggesting that the land on which the building was constructed may not have been legally obtained,” the weekly said.

  • Syria truce: Russia accuses US of failing to abide by deal

    Syria truce: Russia accuses US of failing to abide by deal

    Russia has accused the United States of failing to fulfil its obligations under the truce agreement in Syria.

    A Russian defense ministry statement said Washington was using a “verbal curtain” to hide its reluctance to rein in the rebel groups it supports.

    The truce has broadly held since taking effect on Monday although the Russian-backed Syrian army and rebels have accused each other of many violations.

    Meanwhile, the UN has warned there is a “problem” with getting aid into Syria.

    Special envoy Staffan de Mistura placed responsibility on the Syrian government which, he said, had not yet provided the “facilitation letters” that would allow aid convoys to pass through army checkpoints and reach besieged areas.

    “We cannot let days of this reduction of violence be wasted by not moving forward,” he told reporters in Geneva.

    The Russian defence ministry insisted that, from the very beginning of the truce, Moscow had been fulfilling its obligations, which includes ensuring that the Syrian air force does not bomb areas held by mainstream rebel forces and setting up checkpoints in divided second city of Aleppo.

  • Indian American Gary Singh talks about homelessness in Manteca City, California

    Indian American Gary Singh talks about homelessness in Manteca City, California

    One of the fundamental causes of homelessness is the widening housing affordability gap says Manteca City Council hopeful Gary Singh in his response to the question “Any thoughts on how the City of Manteca can improve the homeless situation in Manteca?”

    The question was posed to all candidates  for the city council job. Singh’s response appears below in its entirety.

    Going through a recession has caused the gap to widen significantly over the past decade. Homelessness is not just our city’s issue but a nationwide issue. The City of Manteca cannot does not have the means to solve this problem on our own. We need to use our surrounding cities and county resources and also create a coalition of non-profits and churches that want to help these individuals so we can work together as a unit utilizing a holistic approach to solving this difficult problem.

    Homeless individuals are not all the same. Some, unfortunately, were hit with hard times and others are taking advantage of the system — panhandling to get money and exploiting the system. We need to help the individuals that truly want to turn their lives around and guide them to community resources that will help them get there. Research on modern homelessness has taught us that investment in permanent housing is extraordinarily effective in reducing homelessness as well as being a cost-effective measure. Numerous research studies have consistently confirmed that long-term housing assistance not only successfully reduces homelessness, it is also less expensive than temporary shelter.

    We can leverage additional financial resources by accessing federal housing assistance. These programs are one of the most successful housing-based solutions to reduce homelessness. The two largest programs are public housing and Section 8 vouchers. Housing vouchers allow low-income households to rent modest market-rate housing of their choice and provides a flexible subsidy that adjusts with the family’s income over time.

    Another way to address homelessness involves moving the long-term street homeless population – the majority of whom are living with mental illness, substance abuse and other serious health problems – directly into subsidized housing or a faith-based shelter. This would link them to support services, either on-site or in the community. From there, the ultimate goal would be to help teach these individuals the life skills that can offer the opportunity to get a job that would allow them to become self-reliant.

    Building a traditional shelter in Manteca is not the solution to our chronic homeless problem. When I recently visited the St Mary’s shelter in Stockton, it is clear that many do not want to use these facilities because of the rules prohibiting drug and alcohol use or the prohibition on pets. Before I even got to the shelter what I saw was a veritable “tent city”.

    These are individuals that do not want to follow the rules and choose to live outside the shelter and only go inside to get meals. Being homeless is not a crime and shelter staff cannot force them into one of the available programs. They have to make the decision to improve their lives on their own.

    For those with a criminal history that makes it difficult to find employment, the Sheriff has a great plan that would address their underlying issues. He proposes a special homeless court and a helpful “program center” as a way to channel homeless lawbreakers into programs that treat their problems and provide needed services and where they can be guided to housing and future independence.

    The vision is to transform several empty Honor Farm barracks into transitional housing and a service center staffed by county agencies and community non-profits. Currently, several Honor Farm barracks stand empty at the jail compound and more will become vacant in coming years as a new facility is built. The proposal would allow a homeless person convicted of a misdemeanor to choose the “program center” instead of jail. This would allow individuals to be screened, identifying causes of the person’s homelessness. The court would then order appropriate programs such as alcohol, drug or mental health treatment. At the same time, staff could help with things like obtaining a driver’s license, settling unpaid fines and untangling other barriers to self-sufficiency. This plan would not only free up jail space, but tackle the barriers to overcoming homelessness.

    In order to make any of this possible, we need to build a local and countywide consensus and the unified political will to address his growing problem. We also need an ongoing commitment by all the municipalities and the community-based organizations to provide funding and the appropriate services to address the many faces of homelessness. This is not just a Manteca problem and it needs to be tackled in a collaborative way.

    For further questions or thoughts, I can be reached at SinghForCouncil@gmail.com, Website: SinghForManteca.Com, 209-612-6161.

  • Sidhus formally quit BJP; Funny, they Had Not Resigned till now

    Sidhus formally quit BJP; Funny, they Had Not Resigned till now

    Apparently, Sidhus had still not resigned, while he did resign from the Rajya Sabha in July but it is must be noted here that the BJP are so desperate for good candidates in Punjab that they never acted against them. Now even when he was in negotiations with Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party and not when he launched his own party, the “Awaaz-e-Punjab”, earlier this month.

    The mystery of whether Navjot Singh Sidhu had quit the BJP, as he weighed over multiple options (Politicians!!!) two months which would be his next political party, was solved today. He had not.

    Navjot Singh Sidhu and his wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu formally quit the BJP yesterday, Sep 14.

    Navjot Singh Sidhu last week had floated a new front ‘Awaaz-e-Punjab’ along with former Indian hockey team captain Pargat Singh, Awaaz-e-Punjab, which will contest the Punjab assembly elections against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

    Navjot had been upset since the party decided not to field him from Amritsar, a seat he had held for 10 years, in the 2014 parliamentary elections.

    Navjot Kaur Sidhu also hinted at joining the new front and said, “Along with Pargat Singh and Bains brothers we have formed a front. This will be against those working against Punjab.

  • A look at Racial Attacks on Sikhs post 9/11

    A look at Racial Attacks on Sikhs post 9/11

    September 15, 2001: Balbir Singh Sodhi, a 49-year-old Sikh man in Mesa, Arizona, is shot and killed outside his gas station. The shooter, Frank Silva Roque, sought revenge for the 9/11 attacks and mistook Sodhi for a Muslim.

    October 2001: While stopped at a red light in San Diego, Swaranjit Kaur Bhullar is stabbed by two men on a motorcycle who say: “This is what you get for what you’ve done to us.”

    November 18, 2001: Three teens burn down a gurdwara, or temple, named Gobind Sadan in Palermo, New York, because they thought it was named for Osama bin Laden.

    December 12, 2001: Surinder Singh Sidhu is beaten with metal poles by two men who walk into his Los Angeles liquor store and accuse him of being Osama bin Laden. Sidhu had taken to wearing American flag turbans after 9/11.

    May 20, 2003: Truck driver Avtar Singh Cheira is shot in his 18-wheeler while waiting for his son to pick him up in Phoenix, Arizona. The shooter yelled: “Go back to where you came from.”

    March 13, 2004: A gurdwara in Fresno, California, is vandalized with graffiti messages: “Rags Go Home” and “It’s Not Your Country.”

    July 12, 2004: Cousins Rajinder Singh Khalsa and Gurcharan Singh are beaten by two men. The attackers call Gurcharan Singh’s turban a “curtain” and taunt him. Khalsa tries to explain the significance of a turban and is beaten unconscious. The attackers yell “Go back to your country.”

    July 2, 2006: Iqbal Singh is stabbed in the neck in front of his home in San Jose, California. The assailant says he wanted to “kill a Taliban.”

    May 24, 2007: A 15-year-old student’s hair is forcibly cut by an older student at his high school in Queens, New York. The older student had a ring with Arabic writing and said: “This ring is Allah. If you don’t let me cut your hair, I will punch you with this ring.”

    May 30, 2007: U.S. Navy veteran Kuldip Singh Nag is approached by a police officer outside his home in Joliet, Illinois, for an expired vehicle registration tag. The officer reportedly assaults Nag with pepper spray while shouting anti-immigrant expletives.

    January 14, 2008: Baljeet Singh’s jaw and nose are broken in an attack outside his gurdwara in New Hyde Park, New York.

    April 11, 2008: A Sikh graduate student at Texas A&M University is called a terrorist before he is attacked and has his turban knocked off his head.

    June 5, 2008: A ninth grade Sikh student in Queens, New York, is attacked by another student who tried to remove his under-turban and has a history of bullying the boy.

    June 5, 2008: A Sikh family in Albuquerque, New Mexico, awakes to see their car defaced with the message “F*** Allah!” and a picture of male genitalia.

    January 30, 2009: Three men attack Jasmir Singh outside a Queens, New York, grocery store. The attackers hurl racial slurs and use a broken glass bottle. Singh loses vision in his left eye.

    November 28, 2010: Harbhajan Singh, a Sacramento, California, cab driver, is beaten and left bleeding by two men after dropping them off. One of the men asks if Singh is Osama bin Laden.

    March 6, 2011: Two elderly Sikh men in traditional garb, out for their daily afternoon walk in Elk Grove, California, are shot and killed. The motive of the perpetrators is thought to be anti-Muslim.

    May 30, 2011: New York transit worker Jiwan Singh is attacked on the A train and accused of being the brother of Osama bin Laden. He loses three teeth. His son, Jasmir Singh, was attacked in 2009 by three men using racial slurs outside a grocery in Queens.

    February 28, 2012: A Sikh family in Sterling, Virginia, receives a letter containing death threats addressed to “Turban Family” that says: “We ask you to leave the country as soon as possible otherwise one of our people is going to shoot you dead.”

    February 6, 2012: A gurdwara in Sterling Heights, Michigan, is defaced with graffiti that includes a gun and references to 9/11.

    August 5, 2012: A gunman opens fire in a gurdwara in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, during prayer services. Six people are killed. Police shoot the gunman dead.

    May 5, 2013: Piara Singh is beaten with a steel pipe outside a gurdwara in Fresno, California. Police call it a hate crime.

    July, 30, 2013: A gurdwara in Riverside, California, is vandalized with the words “Terrorist” and “Terrist!” (sic) scrawled on its walls and parking lot.

    September 21, 2013: Dr. Prabhjot Singh and a friend are beaten by a large group of teenagers and young men near New York’s Central Park. Singh says he heard someone yell: “Terrorist, Osama, get him.”

    September 8, 2015: Inderjit Singh Mukker is assaulted in the Chicago suburb of Darien by a teenager who yells: “Terrorist, go back to your country” and “Bin Laden!” Mukker is left unconscious and has to be hospitalized after the beating.

    November 6, 2015: Los Angeles County bus driver Balwinder Jit Singh is attacked on his bus by a man who called Singh a “terrorist” and a “suicide bomber.” Singh is left with a disfigured face.

    December 6, 2015: A Buena Park, California, Sikh center is defaced with graffiti including an expletive and the word “ISIS.”

    December 26, 2015: Amrik Singh Bal is beaten and run over by a car in Fresno, California.

    March 2, 2016: A gurdwara in Spokane, Washington, is vandalized and the temple’s holy book desecrated. The attacker told police he thought the gurdwara was a mosque connected to ISIS.

    Sources: Sikh Coalition, SALDEF, Southern Poverty Law Center

  • Clinton reclaims National Lead as Voters continue to get divided by race, sex and education

    Clinton reclaims National Lead as Voters continue to get divided by race, sex and education

    WASHINGTON (TIP): With 52 days left to the big day, Hillary Clinton leads Donald Trump by five points in a head-to-head matchup in the latest national poll of likely voters from Quinnipiac University released Wednesday, Sep 14, but the margin has been chopped in half since the last time the poll was released in August.

    Clinton was ahead of Trump 48%-43% in a head-to-head matchup with likely voters nationally on Sep 14. (In a survey released in late August, Clinton had 51% and Trump was at 41%.) Regardless of whom they are supporting, majority of the voters were supporting their candidate because of the opponent rather than liking their choice.

    More than half-54 percent of Clinton supporters said opposing Trump was their main reason for backing the Democratic nominee. Approximately two-thirds of likely Trump voters-66 percent-said their main reason for supporting him is because they opposed Clinton.

    The latest results come as other state and national polls show similarly tightening margins between both major candidates, who have traded words in recent days over concerns about transparency and health.

    The Quinnipiac poll began last Thursday, Sep 8, a day after the Commander in Chief Forum, and remained active in the field until Tuesday, Sep 13, after days of public attention on Clinton’s health following her early departure from a 9/11 memorial on Sunday and subsequent revelation that she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.

    When third-party candidates were included in poll, Clinton and Trump were separated by just 2 points, which is within the margin of error.

    CLINTON HAD 41%, TRUMP HAD 39%, LIBERTARIAN PARTY CANDIDATE GARY JOHNSON HAD 13%, AND THE GREEN PARTY’S JILL STEIN CAME IN AT 4%.

    Trump led with white voters by 10 points (51%-41%), while Clinton was ahead with non-white voters 66%-19%.

    Trump led with men 50%-41%, while Clinton led with female voters 54%-36%.

    TRUMP LEADS CLINTON IN NEW OHIO, NEVADA, FLORIDA POLLS

    The Republican nominee is enjoying a 5-point lead in Ohio in a new Bloomberg Politics poll. In a head-to-head matchup between Clinton and Trump, he led 48%-43%.

    The margin remained the same when third-party candidates were added. Trump had 44%, Clinton had 39%, Libertarian Gary Johnson had 10% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein had 3%.

    The Bloomberg Politics poll was taken over some of Clinton’s most difficult days of the cycle.

    She said “half” of Trump’s supporters were “deplorable” Friday night, and on Sunday she wobbled as she left a 9/11 memorial, while recovering from previously undisclosed pneumonia.

    Trump’s lead in Ohio is consistent with a CNN/ORC poll of likely voters released Wednesday which had him at 46%, Clinton at 41%. Johnson had 8% support and Stein had 2%.

    Trump was also ahead in Florida in the CNN/ORC poll – though the 3-point difference fell within the margin of error. Trump had 47%and Clinton had 44%. Johnson had 6% and Stein had 1%.

    And in Nevada, Trump had a 2-point lead over Clinton – also within the margin of error – in a new Monmouth University poll released Wednesday.

    Trump had the support of 44% of likely voters in Nevada, while Clinton had 42%. Johnson had the backing of 8%; Stein was not included.

  • AIA Deepavali at South Street Seaport on 2nd October

    AIA Deepavali at South Street Seaport on 2nd October

    LONG ISLAND, NY (TIP): The Annual Benefit Gala for the AIA Deepavali in Roslyn, Long Island drew a large number of supporters of the organization. The presence of heavyweight honorees seems to have made all the difference. The honorees included Padma Bhushan Dr. Chitranjan S Ranawat, an internally famous Orthopedic Surgeon with The Hospital for Special Surgery, New York; an eminent Interventional Cardiologist with The Mount Sinai Medical Center, Dr. Sami Sharma; and a philanthropist, social activist, community leader and a successful businessman dealing in branded fragrances Kanak Golia.

    The heartthrob of young kids across the world, Neel Sethi, actor, star of Disney’s “The Jungle Book” was honored with special recognition. Speaking briefly about his role in the movie, he happily replied to questions from the audience. Many in the audience had their cellphone cameras aimed at him video-recording the interaction. He will be meeting kids at the AIAA Deepavali on October 2nd at the South Street Seaport. So, kids, get ready to meet the star.

    The Association of Indians in America, NY Chapter (AIA-NY) will be celebrating its 29th Annual Deepavali Festival at the South Street Seaport in New York on October 2, a historic day being the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Indian Nation.

    This event is one of the largest in the tri-state area, attracting 75,000 -100,000 people from all backgrounds and walks of life. The New York Times, once placed the number of visitors to the Deepavali mela at about 200,000 residents from all across the tri-state area.

    YouTube sensation Vidya Vox will also be performing live at the mela – she sang a couple of Hindi bhajans at the fundraising gala also.

    The Oct 2 event will be a full day extravaganza celebrating tradition, culture and oneness with numerous food and clothing vendors, corporate booths, a children’s area, health kiosk, performances and activities for the whole family.

    This year, as the date coincides with the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, there will be a special tribute paid to Gandhiji and an Essay & Drawing Competition held for the youth to showcase the importance and meaning of Peace.

    Live Fireworks from the East River illuminating the New York City skyline will serve as the Grand Finale of Diwali mela.

    Sponsors this year include CheapOAir, Qatar Airways, Toyota, New York Life, Swan Club,MoneyGram, Kotak Mahindra, New York Life, HAB Bank, Navika Capital, Star Plus, Sony Entertainment, Jus Punjabi and TV Asia.

  • US lifts Myanmar trade sanctions

    US lifts Myanmar trade sanctions

    WASHINGTON (TIP): President Barack Obama announced that US economic sanctions against Myanmar will be lifted, and trade preferences reinstated to provide duty-free treatment for goods from the Asian nation. The September 14 meeting in Washington was the first by Aung San Suu Kyi as Myanmar’s leader since her pro-democracy party won a stunning victory over the country’s military rulers in elections last year.

    “The United States is now prepared to lift sanctions that we have imposed on Burma for quite some time,” Obama said, speaking in the Oval Office with Aung San Suu Kyi at his side.

    Earlier, Obama notified the US Congress that he was reinstating preferential tariffs, known as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), for Myanmar, which provides duty-free access for goods from poor and developing countries.

    Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, was removed from GSP benefits in 1989 after the country’s ruling military junta brutally crushed pro-democracy protests.

    President Obama said the lifting of some sanctions would happen “soon”, but did not give further details.

    “It is the right thing to do to ensure the people of Burma see rewards from a new way of doing business, and a new government,” he said.

    He also paid tribute to the efforts made towards peace in the country, and the “enormous potential” of the country.

    Ms Suu Kyi called on the US Congress to eliminate all remaining sanctions against Myanmar.

    “Unity also needs prosperity,” she said. “People, when they have to fight over limited resources, forget that standing together is important.”

    “We think that the time has come to remove all of the sanctions that hurt us economically,” she said.

    Removal of long-standing sanctions against Myanmar will help foreign investment and boost the country’s transition to democracy, the White House said prior to the meeting of the two leaders.

    The US eased some sanctions earlier this year to support political reform, but maintained most of its economic restrictions with an eye towards penalizing those it views as hampering Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government.

    Myanmar’s military stepped back from direct control of the country in 2011 after 49 years in power, but maintains a commanding role in politics, controlling 25 percent of seats in parliament and leading three key ministries.

    Aung San Suu Kyi is barred from the post of Myanmar’s president under the country’s military-drafted constitution, which rules her out because her sons are not Myanmar citizens. Instead, she serves as the country’s de facto leader by holding the positions of foreign minister and state counsellor.

  • Obama administration to launch new effort on heroin crisis

    Obama administration to launch new effort on heroin crisis

    WASHINGTON (TIP): The Justice Department is preparing to launch a renewed strategy to address the unrelenting scourge of heroin and opioid addiction, in part by placing greater emphasis on identifying links between over-prescribing doctors and distribution networks across the country, reports USA TODAY.

    The plan, outlined by Attorney General Loretta Lynch in an interview with USA TODAY, is part of an eleventh-hour push by the Obama administration against a public health crisis that continues to claim nearly 100 people each day in the United States.

    In a memo that is expected to be circulated next week to all 94 U.S. attorney offices, Lynch said prosecutors are being urged to more readily share information across state lines about prescription drug abuses by physicians that could identify traffickers and far-flung trafficking routes more quickly.

    At the same time, Lynch said federal prosecutors will be directed to coordinate their enforcement efforts with public health authorities in their districts as part of an overall strategy that puts equal emphasis on prevention and treatment.

    “I’m not calling anybody out, because I think the people who look at this problem realize quickly how devastating it has been to families, to communities, to public health dollars, to law enforcement resources,” the attorney general said. “There is no one magic bullet for this.”

    While opioid and heroin addiction have earned the distinction as the single greatest drug threat in the U.S., largely due to a casualty rate that has nearly quadrupled since 1999, the federal government’s effort to counter it – or even slow it – has been spotty.

    Earlier this year, the Obama administration requested nearly $1.1 billion as part of a plan to pay for drug treatment, invoking a common refrain that drug overdoses – driven increasingly by heroin and other opioids, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone – are responsible for more deaths than car crashes. Yet after Congress approved landmark legislation in July for expanded drug addiction treatment and prevention, it did not include the $181 million to actually fund the measure.

     

     

  • A 62-Year-Old Sikh Cab Driver Models for a Fashion Brand and Rocks it!

    A 62-Year-Old Sikh Cab Driver Models for a Fashion Brand and Rocks it!

    NEW YORK CITY (TIP): Very rarely do we see people picked up at random from the streets for a modelling gig for a big fashion brand. We might be secretly wishing for the same, but it rarely happens. But success comes to those who do not expect the fruit.

    Take Ajit Singh Bharth, for example. He’s a 62-year-old cab driver in New York City. On one trip, he dropped off a passenger in Midtown Manhattan and was spotted by Quinton Clemm from Eidos Fashion, a luxury fashion brand for men.

    “I ONLY CAUGHT A GLIMPSE OF HIS PROFILE, BUT AS THE CAB PULLED OFF FROM THE CURB AND INTO THE TRAFFIC, I KNEW THAT I HAD TO CATCH THIS CAB. AFTER JOGGING TWO BLOCKS AFTER THE VEHICLE, BHARTH CAUGHT A TRAFFIC LIGHT AND I HOPPED INTO THE BACK OF HIS CAB.”

    Quinton got to talk to him. He asked him if he could come down for a trial fitting. Co-incidentally, Antonio Ciongoli, Creative Director of Eidos was present later that day, and they put together an ensemble for Bharth to try on.

    Clemm also said that Antonio wanted to feature only people of Indian origin for Eidos’ 2017 Spring/Summer Collection, and he got the idea from a tour of Rajasthan earlier this year. Bharth and his turban really stood out, which is why he chose him to be featured.

    “EVERYTHING FROM HIS GLASSES AND FULL WHITE BEARD, TO THE OFF-WHITE SPREAD COLLAR SHIRT THAT HE WAS WEARING WHEN WE MET MADE IT CLEAR THAT BHARTH BELONGED IN OUR PRESENTATION.”

    Clemm said Bharth was very polite and accommodating during the whole process. Many international publications and reviewers gave a positive opinion about the collection and Antonio’s idea bore fruit.

    You never know when the Universe decides to bless you!